Photo by Lindsey Blane
Arkells released a new track, “Teenage Tears,” featuring Tegan and Sara, ahead of their seventh studio record, Blink Twice, coming September 23rd via Universal Music Canada. Their melancholy music video, shot in Vancouver’s famed and curious Kingsgate Mall, premieres today, care of Consequence.
Says Consequence, “Indeed, with vocal harmonies that sound at home on a Justin Vernon project and an earnest embrace of teenage melodrama à la “drivers license,” Arkells have somehow successfully crossed I, i and SOUR. Throw in contributions from the legendary Tegan and Sara, and you have a recipe for a robust, unabashed song complete with sparse piano and swirling synths.”
Watch “Teenage Tears” HERE.
“There’s a particular kind of intense emotional pain that reminds me of high school,” says Arkells frontman Max Kerman. “It’s not worn down, chronic kind of pain. It’s a sharp and confusing sad. This song is about how occasionally you can still feel that kind of sadness as an adult. We were trying to do something that might feel somewhere between Olivia Rodrigo and The National or Bon Iver.”
“Teenage Tears” is the 5th track to release from Arkells’ forthcoming album Blink Twice, which has already launched tracks Past Life (ft. Cold War Kids), Dance With You (ft. Cœur de pirate, Aly & AJ), Human Being (ft Lights) & Reckoning.
“On Blink Twice, we wanted to include more voices on the record, and we’re lucky enough to have a roster of pals who also happen to be our favourite musicians,” continues Kerman. “Tegan and Sara have long been an inspiration for us. They’ve made themselves the most formidable career by taking bold artistic chances.
A few years ago, I saw them tour their memoir called High School, about their upbringing in Calgary and discovering their sexuality and music as teenagers in the 90s. It was part concert, part theatre, part book reading. And it was perfect. They’re now turning that book into a TV show, and it comes out this fall.”
“Collaborating is something we love to do,” says Tegan Quin. “But these days, our schedules are chaotic, and so when Max reached out about collaborating on a song called ‘Teenage Tears’ with Arkells, I prepared him for a no. The song felt melancholy and sweet and nostalgic in all the ways we love, and Sara and I were won over after we heard it. We’ve been neck-deep in projects related to our own adolescence the last few years, and so the song really hit.”
The release of this new track comes just ahead of Arkells upcoming tour dates across Germany & the UK with pal and collaborator Lights.
Blink Twice, the brand new companion album to the band’s current release, Blink Once (55M Streams), showcases a new collection of songs where Arkells continue to push their sound and creativity to a new level. As Arkells stayed busy making music during the last two years, they always knew they would come out of the pandemic with two distinct records.
“Blink Twice is about going to new places and seeing the world with fresh eyes. You can either move through life and grow stubborn, or you can grow curious,” says frontman Max Kerman. “We’ve never had an album with so many guest artists along for the ride. Everyone from Cold War Kids to Aly & AJ, Tegan and Sara, Lights, Cœur De Pirate, Joel Plaskett and Wesley Schultz of The Lumineers. At our core we’ll always be a living, breathing soul band. But Blink Twice lets us be that and more.”
BLINK TWICE TRACKLIST:
1. Reckoning
2. Past Life (ft. Cold War Kids)
3. Take Back Everything
4. Human Being (ft. Lights)
5. Teenage Tears (ft. Tegan and Sara)
6. Miracle
7. Nowhere To Go (ft. Wesley Schultz)
8. Dance With You (ft. Cœur de pirate, Aly & AJ)
9. Running Scared
10. Something’s Gotta Give (ft. Joel Plaskett)
PRE-SAVE BLINK TWICE
BLINK ONCE OUT NOW
TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE
BLINK ONCE / TWICE 2022 TOUR:
Sept 9 – Berlin, GER – Lido w/ Lights
Sept 12 – Hamburg, GER – Knust w/ Lights
Sept 13 – Düsseldorf, GER – Zakk w/ Lights
Sept 15 – Norwich, UK – Waterfront Studio w/ Lights
Sept 16 – Bristol, UK – Thekla w/ Lights
Sept 17 – Birmingham, UK – O2 Institute 3 w/ Lights
Sept 19 – Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club w/ Lights
Sept 20 – Glasgow, UK – Oran Mor w/ Lights
Sept 22 – Manchester, UK – Club Academy w/ Lights
Sept 23 – London, UK – Brixton Electric w/ Lights
Sept 24 – Brighton, UK – Chalk w/ Lights
Sept 30 – Halifax, NS – Scotiabank Centre w/ Lights
Oct 20 – Winnipeg, MB – Canada Life Centre w/ K.Flay
Oct 22 – Grande Prairie, AB – Bonnetts Energy Centre w/ K.Flay
Oct 25 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena w/ K.Flay
Oct 28 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome w/ K.Flay
Oct 29 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place w/ K.Flay
Nov 24 – Ottawa, ON – TD Arena w/ Joel Plaskett Emergency
