Kick I

Kick I (stylized as KiCk i) is the fourth studio album by Venezuelan electronic record producer Arca. Recorded between Barcelona and London, the album was released on June 26, 2020 through XL Recordings. Kick I was presented with four singles: "Nonbinary", "Time", "Mequetrefe", and "KLK" featuring Rosalía.[5] It also includes collaborations with Björk, Shygirl and Sophie.[6] The album is nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.[7]

Kick I
Digital and streaming edition cover
Studio album by
Arca
ReleasedJune 26, 2020
Recorded2018–20
Genre
Length38:07
Language
  • Spanish
  • English
LabelXL
ProducerArca
Arca chronology
Arca
(2017)		 Kick I
(2020)		 Madre
(2021)
Singles from KiCk I
  1. "Nonbinary"
    Released: April 30, 2020
  2. "Time"
    Released: May 20, 2020
  3. "Mequetrefe"
    Released: June 17, 2020
  4. "KLK"
    Released: June 22, 2020

Background

Shortly after releasing her 62-minute long mix "@@@@@", on March 8, 2020 Arca revealed to Garage Magazine that she would be releasing her next album in the summer of 2020 and that it would feature Icelandic singer Björk and Spanish new flamenco alternative artist Rosalía.[8] She had already previewed some of the songs in 2019 through live videos on her Instagram profile. Arca explained that "there was a clear intention [on the album] to allow every self to express itself. Not to decide how much air time each self would get, but to allow for modulation between them in a spontaneous way."

The album, consisting of 12 tracks, leaked on the internet on March 21, 2020 prior to any release date announcement. On May 20, 2020, Arca announced through social media the release date of the album as well as its tracklist and cover art, which was shot by Catalan artist Carlota Guerrero, Carlos Sáez and herself.[9] The album was made available to preorder since that day on streaming platforms since it will only be released digitally internationally while there will be a CD and LP edition for the United Kingdom on July 17.[10]

Composition

Kick I is an Avant-pop, IDM, deconstructed club, and experimental pop album that takes influence from reggaeton, techno, bubblegum electro, industrial, electropop, trap, R&B, psychedelic music and PC Music.[11][12][13] It is a departure from Arca's previous ambient work into more pop melodies, and has been called "an anti-pop pop album".[14] The songs play with pop song structure, being described as "all bridge—stretches of evolution from one idea or mindset to the next."[14] The operatic voice showcased on 2017's Arca can be heard on "No Queda Nada" and "Calor". The majority of the album uses lyrics as "textural elements rather than vehicles for ideas or stories" and features heavy use of rapping.[13] The album touches on lyrical themes of identity, both gender and cultural. Ghersi's coming out as a non-binary trans woman was a big influence on the album, especially the first track and lead single "Nonbinary".[15] Kick I contains mostly Spanish lyrics, connecting with Ghersi's latinx roots, as well as her first lyrics in English.[15][14] "Time" is features "effervescent electropop" that has been compared to the work of Swedish singer Robyn.[13] "Mequetrefe" is a reclamation of a derogatory Spanish term with a "bashed-up skeleton of a reggaetón rhythm".

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.7/10[16]
Metacritic74/100[17]
Review scores
SourceRating
Exclaim!9/10[18]
The Guardian[12]
The Line of Best Fit7.5/10[19]
Loud and Quiet9/10[20]
The Observer[21]
NME[22]
Paste Magazine8.8/10[23]
Pitchfork7.5/10[13]
Slant Magazine[14]
Sputnikmusic3.2/5[24]

Kick I was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, it holds an average score of 74 out of 100, based on 16 professional reviews.[17] Chal Ravens of Pitchfork called Kick I Arca's "most accessible music to date" and praised Arca's increased confidence, but wished there was more thought put into the lyrics.[13] Liam Inscoe-Jones from The Line of Best Fit thought the album was enjoyable yet anticlimactic and that its sound were less fresh than it would've been years ago.[19] Kaelen Bell, writing for Exclaim! called the album an "older sister" to Charli XCX's Pop 2 in its merging of pop and experimental music.[18] Tom Hull gave the album a B-plus and found it "arch, arty, arcane", and "pretty unique".[25]

Accolades
Accolades for Kick I
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2020
40
[26]
Slant The Best Albums of 2020 (So Far) N/A
[27]
Stereogum Stereogum's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
21
[28]
The 50 Best Albums of 2020
32
[29]
Bleep Top 10 Albums of the Year 2020
1
[30]

[31]

Track listing

All tracks were written and produced by Alejandra Ghersi, alongside credited featured artists.

No.TitleLength
1."Nonbinary"2:19
2."Time"2:45
3."Mequetrefe"2:20
4."Riquiquí"2:39
5."Calor"3:32
6."Afterwards" (featuring Björk (lyrics by Antonio Machado))4:02
7."Watch" (featuring Shygirl)2:28
8."KLK" (featuring Rosalía)3:47
9."Rip the Slit"2:54
10."La Chíqui" (featuring Sophie)2:47
11."Machote"2:57
12."No Queda Nada"5:37
Total length:38:07
Kick I – Japanese edition (bonus track)[32]
No.TitleLength
13."Mirrors"7:53
Total length:46:00

Release history
List of release dates, showing region, format(s), label(s) and reference(s)
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Various June 26, 2020 Streaming · Digital download XL Recordings [9]
United Kingdom July 17, 2020
[33]
Japan July 31, 2020 CD [32][34]

References
  1. Ravens, Chal. "Arca / kiCk i". Pitchfork. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  2. Twells, John. "Arca: KiCk i review – joyful sonic vision of what pop could be". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  3. Ingvaldsen, Torsten. "Arca's 'KiCk i' Is a Chaotic Bricolage of Hyperactive Pop". Hypebeast. Hypebeast Limited. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  4. Balram, Dhruva. "Arca – 'KiCk i' review: a new high watermark for the wildly innovative producer's experimental pop". NME. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  5. "Watch Arca become a cybernetic goddess in the video for 'Nonbinary'". NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM. 2020-04-30. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
  6. Dazed (2020-03-10). "Arca's new album, KiCk i, will feature Rosalía and Björk". Dazed. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
  7. "Grammys 2021: Poppy, Arca, BTS y Noah Cyrus se cuelan en las nominaciones; mira las mejores reacciones". MOR.BO (in Spanish). 2020-11-24. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
  8. Frank, Alex (March 8, 2020). "Arca Is the Future We Hope For". Garage Magazine. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  9. "Doña ⚧ on Instagram: "tHe TiMe iS nOw! ❤️ my new album KiCk i is out digitally june 26💕 listen + preorder via LiNk iN BiO now🚨 ☯️🎶🤍🐾🍒 🎀🌈💽🎤 ha llegado el momento!…"". Instagram. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  10. Feature.fm. "Arca - KiCk i". smartlink. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  11. Devlin, Ben (26 June 2020). "Arca - Kick I Review". MusicOMH. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  12. Twells, John (25 June 2020). "Arca: KiCk i review – joyful sonic vision of what pop could be". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  13. Ravens, Chal. "Arca: KiCk i". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  14. Lyons-Burt, Charles (25 June 2020). "Review: Arca's Kick I Is a Kinetic Celebration of Self-Actualization". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  15. Phares, Heather. "Kick I album by Arca Album Review". Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  16. "KiCk i by Arca reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  17. "KiCk i by Arca Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  18. Bell, Kaelen (23 June 2020). "Arca's Stunning 'KiCk i' Is a Fully Realized Vision of the Future". Exclaim!. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  19. Inscoe-Jones, Liam (23 June 2020). "Arca is finally front centre with her unique and imitable musical blend". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  20. Phares, Heather. "Arca – KiCk i". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  21. Empire, Kitty (28 June 2020). "Arca: Kick I review – dissonance meets overground ambitions". The Observer. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  22. Balram, Dhruva (24 June 2020). "Arca – 'KiCk i' review: a new high watermark for the wildly innovative producer's experimental pop". NME. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  23. Freedman, Max (26 June 2020). "Arca Has the Absolute Most Fun on KiCk i". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  24. Bowman, Kirk. "Review: Arca - KiCk i | Sputnikmusic". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  25. Hull, Tom (13 July 2020). "Music Week". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  26. "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Pitchfork. December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  27. "The Best Albums of 2020 (So Far)". Slant. June 29, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  28. "Best Albums of 2020 So Far". Stereogum. June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  29. "The 50 Best Albums Of 2020". Stereogum. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  30. "Top 10 Albums of the Year 2020". Bleep. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  31. "Album of the Year 2020: Arca - KiCk i". Bleep. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  32. "Arca/KiCk i". Tower Records.com. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  33. "XL Recordings". XL Recordings. May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  34. "BEATINK.COM KiCk i". Beatink.com. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
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