Kick I
Digital and streaming edition cover. Physical CD has the name Arca on the cover.
Studio album by
Arca
Released26 June 2020 (2020-06-26)
Genre
Length38:07
Language
  • Spanish
  • English
LabelXL
ProducerArca
Arca chronology
Arca
(2017)		 Kick I
(2020)		 Madre
(2021)
Singles from Kick I
  1. "Nonbinary"
    Released: 30 April 2020
  2. "Time"
    Released: 20 May 2020
  3. "Mequetrefe"
    Released: 17 June 2020
  4. "KLK"
    Released: 22 June 2020

Kick I (stylized as KiCk i; pronounced "kick one"[5]) is the fourth studio album by Venezuelan electronic record producer Arca. Recorded between Barcelona and London, the album was released on 26 June 2020 through XL Recordings. Kick I was presented with four singles: "Nonbinary", "Time", "Mequetrefe", and "KLK" featuring Rosalía.[6] It also includes collaborations with Björk, Shygirl, and Sophie.[7] The album was nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards,[8] as well as for Best Alternative Music Album at the 22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards.

Kick I is the first entry of a Kick quintet. The rest of the entries were released in November–December 2021.

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.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11]

Composition

Kick I is an avant-pop, IDM, electronic, deconstructed club, and experimental pop album that takes influence from reggaeton, techno, bubblegum electro, industrial, electropop, trap, R&B, psychedelic music and PC Music.[12][13][14] It is a departure from Arca's previous ambient work into more pop melodies, and has been called "an anti-pop pop album".[15] The songs play with pop song structure, being described as "all bridge—stretches of evolution from one idea or mindset to the next."[15] 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.[14] 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".[16] Kick I contains mostly Spanish lyrics, connecting with Ghersi's Venezuelan roots, as well as her first lyrics in English.[16][15] "Time" features "effervescent electropop" that has been compared to the work of Swedish singer Robyn.[14] "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[17]
Metacritic74/100[18]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[19]
Exclaim!9/10[20]
The Guardian[13]
The Line of Best Fit7.5/10[21]
Loud and Quiet9/10[22]
NME[23]
The Observer[24]
Paste8.8/10[25]
Pitchfork7.5/10[14]
Slant[15]

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.[18] Chal Ravens of Pitchfork called Kick I Arca's "most accessible music to date" and praised Arca's increased confidence, but wished the lyrics were structured as more traditional pop songs.[14] 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.[21] 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.[20] Tom Hull gave the album a B-plus and found it "arch, arty, arcane", and "pretty unique".[26]

The album was nominated for Best a Dance Electronic Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards losing to Kaytranada’s Bubba, the album was also nominated for Best Alternative Music Award at the 22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards but lost out to Nathy Peluso’s Calambre.

Accolades

Accolades for Kick I
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2020
40
Stereogum Stereogum's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
21
The 50 Best Albums of 2020
32
Bleep Top 10 Albums of the Year 2020
1

Track listing

All tracks written and produced by Alejandra Ghersi, unless noted otherwise.[32]

Standard edition
No.TitleLyricsMusicProducer(s)Length
1."Nonbinary"   2:19
2."Time"   2:45
3."Mequetrefe" (transl. "Whipper-snapper")   2:20
4."Riquiquí"   2:39
5."Calor" (transl. "Heat")   3:32
6."Afterwards" (featuring Björk)Antonio Machado
 4:02
7."Watch" (featuring Shygirl)Shygirl  2:28
8."KLK" (featuring Rosalía)Rosalia Vila Tobella
  • Arca
  • Cardopusher
  • Arca
  • CardoPusher
3:47
9."Rip the Slit"   2:54
10."La Chíqui" (transl. "The Girl"; featuring Sophie)Sophie 
  • Arca
  • Sophie
2:47
11."Machote"   2:57
12."No Queda Nada" (transl. "There's Nothing Left")   5:37
Total length:38:07
Japanese edition (bonus track)[33]
No.TitleLength
13."Mirrors"7:53
Total length:46:00

Sample credits

  • "Afterwards" contains elements of the poem "Anoche Cuando Dormía" by Antonio Machado
  • "Machote" incorporates elements of "Quiero una Chica" by Latin Dreams

Personnel

Credits for Kick I adapted from CD liner notes.

  • Arca – composition, production, vocals, mixing, cover image, artwork, design
  • Carlos Sáez – additional arrangement (tracks 8, 11), cover image
  • Jake Miller – vocal engineer (Björk; track 6)
  • Alex Epton – mixing
  • Enyang Urbiks – mastering
  • Carlotta Guerrero – cover image
  • Leo Foo – live photography
  • Alex Raduan – black and white photography
  • Roberto Rud – artwork photography
  • Alfie Allen – design

Release history

Release formats for Kick I
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various 26 June 2020 XL Recordings [10]
United Kingdom 17 July 2020 [34]
Japan 31 July 2020 CD [33][35]

References

  1. 1 2 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. 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. ↑ Hoste, Elliot (3 December 2021). "In Arca's Kick series, the electronic artist builds a whole new universe". New Statesman. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  6. ↑ "Watch Arca become a cybernetic goddess in the video for 'Nonbinary'". NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM. 30 April 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  7. ↑ Dazed (10 March 2020). "Arca's new album, KiCk i, will feature Rosalía and Björk". Dazed. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  8. ↑ "Grammys 2021: Poppy, Arca, BTS y Noah Cyrus se cuelan en las nominaciones; mira las mejores reacciones". MOR.BO (in Spanish). 24 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  9. ↑ Frank, Alex (8 March 2020). "Arca Is the Future We Hope For". Garage Magazine. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  10. 1 2 "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. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  11. ↑ Shaffer, Claire (20 May 2020). "Arca Announces New Album 'Kick I,' Shares Demonic Video for 'Time'". Rolling Stone. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  12. ↑ Devlin, Ben (26 June 2020). "Arca - Kick I Review". MusicOMH. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  13. 1 2 Twells, John (25 June 2020). "Arca: KiCk i review – joyful sonic vision of what pop could be". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Ravens, Chal. "Arca: KiCk i". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Lyons-Burt, Charles (25 June 2020). "Review: Arca's Kick I Is a Kinetic Celebration of Self-Actualization". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  16. 1 2 Phares, Heather. "Kick I album by Arca Album Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  17. ↑ "KiCk i by Arca reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  18. 1 2 "KiCk i by Arca Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  19. ↑ Phares, Heather. Review of Kick I at AllMusic. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  20. 1 2 Bell, Kaelen (23 June 2020). "Arca's Stunning 'KiCk i' Is a Fully Realized Vision of the Future". Exclaim!. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  21. 1 2 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.
  22. ↑ Butchard, Skye. "Arca – KiCk i". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  23. ↑ 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.
  24. ↑ Empire, Kitty (28 June 2020). "Arca: Kick I review – dissonance meets overground ambitions". The Observer. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  25. ↑ Freedman, Max (26 June 2020). "Arca Has the Absolute Most Fun on KiCk i". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  26. ↑ Hull, Tom (13 July 2020). "Music Week". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  27. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Pitchfork. 8 December 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  28. ↑ "Best Albums of 2020 So Far". Stereogum. 10 June 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  29. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums Of 2020". Stereogum. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  30. ↑ "Top 10 Albums of the Year 2020". Bleep. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  31. ↑ "Album of the Year 2020: Arca - KiCk i". Bleep. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  32. ↑ "Credits / KiCk i / Arca". Tidal. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  33. 1 2 "Arca/KiCk i". Tower Records.com. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  34. ↑ "XL Recordings". XL Recordings. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  35. ↑ "BEATINK.COM KiCk i". Beatink.com. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
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