''Rally Cry'' is the fifth full-length studio album by Canadian
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Arkells, released October 19, 2018 on
Last Gang Records
Last Gang Records is a record label formed by Canadian music industry lawyer Chris Taylor (businessman), Chris Taylor and concert promoter Donald K. Tarlton in the Fall of 2003 at the Pop Montreal Music Festival. Last Gang was nominated as Indepe ...
.
The album was preceded by the politically themed single "People's Champ", and "Relentless" was the second single.
["Arkells, ascending: Rallying for Canadian rock’s crown, Hamilton band thinks bigger"]
''The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'', August 28, 2018.
Promotion
The album's concert tour included the band's first major headlining stadium shows, including a kickoff show at
Tim Hortons Field
Tim Hortons Field, nicknamed "The Donut Box", is a multi-purpose stadium in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Built as a replacement for Ivor Wynne Stadium, Tim Hortons Field is primarily used for Canadian football and association fo ...
in their hometown of
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
on June 23, 2018,
[ and a show at the ]Scotiabank Arena
Scotiabank Arena (French: ''Aréna Scotiabank)'', formerly known as Air Canada Centre (ACC), is a multi-purposed arena located on Bay Street in the South Core district of Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the home of the Toronto Rapt ...
in Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
on February 16, 2019.
Critical response
Cam Lindsay of '' Exclaim!'' rated the album 8 out of 10, writing that "What makes Rally Cry a success, though, is in how Arkells seem to really be going for the big score with creative risks. "Relentless" is built around a sample lifted from Soweto artist Chicco's "Sixolele Babe," whose Afro-pop groove shouldn't really work, but somehow fits into its loud rock framework. "Company Man" is the closest they've come to a Motown or Daptone
Daptone Records is a funk and soul independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York. Best known as the home of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and Charles Bradley, the label boasts a roster which includes Menahan Street Band, The Budos Band, ...
track of their own, and while it isn't exactly the Dap-Kings, what is?" For ''Now
Now most commonly refers
to the present time.
Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to:
Organizations
* Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization
* National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization
* Now ...
'', Richard Trapunski wrote that "Rally Cry teems with the kind of call-and-response hooks (complete with “whoa-oh” backups), fist-raising slow-build crescendos and precise grooves meant to be screamed to with crowds of people. That kind of gaudy, unself-conscious, 80s-style pop ambition can be a turnoff in many bands, especially in 2018 (see: U2, the Killers, Coldplay), but Arkells do it in a way that makes you root for them like a hometown hockey team."
Awards
At the Juno Awards of 2019
The Juno Awards of 2019, honouring Canadian music achievements, were presented in London, Ontario during the weekend of 16–17 March 2019. The primary telecast ceremonies were held at Budweiser Gardens, preceded by numerous Juno Week events from ...
, the album won the Juno Award for Rock Album of the Year The Juno Award for "Rock Album of the Year" has been awarded since 1991, as recognition each year for the best rock album in Canada. The award has been called a number of other names, including the "Best Hard Rock/Metal Album" and "Best Rock Album ...
, and Eric Ratz
Eric Ratz is a Canadian producer, engineer, and mixer. He has won multiple Grammy and Juno awards. Throughout his career, Ratz has worked with some of Canada's most successful and influential rock bands, including Arkells, Big Wreck, Billy Ta ...
won the Jack Richardson Producer of the Year Award
The Juno Award for "Producer of the Year" has been awarded since 1975, as recognition each year for the best record producer in Canada. It was renamed the "Jack Richardson Producer of the Year" award in 2003, after Jack Richardson who was a noted ...
. Earlier in the evening, however, Jeremy Dutcher
Jeremy Dutcher is a classically-trained Canadian Indigenous tenor, composer, musicologist, performer and activist, who previously lived in Toronto, Ontario and currently lives in Montréal, Québec. He became widely known for his first album '' ...
had been played off the stage before he was able to finish his acceptance speech for the Juno Award for Indigenous Music Album of the Year
The Juno Award for Indigenous Music Album of the Year is an annual award presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for the best album by an Indigenous Canadian artist or band. It was formerly known as Best Music of Aborigin ...
, and Arkells brought him up to the stage with them and ceded their speaking time to him so he could finish."Arkells Use Junos Win To Give Space For Jeremy Dutcher To Finish Speech"
'' Huffington Post'', March 17, 2019.
Track listing
All songs written by Arkells.
References
{{Authority control
2018 albums
Arkells albums
Last Gang Records albums
Juno Award for Rock Album of the Year albums
Albums recorded at Noble Street Studios