Have Arkells become Canada’s most popular band?
It feels like they’ve reached new heights in recent years. I might be off base here, but I think they’ve taken over the spot on the radio that Hedley occupied for many years. Once Hedley became basically blacklisted for *ahem, reasons, somebody had to become the new face of the Canadian rock scene.
Arkells are as good a choice as anybody. They’ve been working hard for years to reach the point they’re at and it’s well deserved. Hailing from Hamilton, Ontario, they feature Dan Griffin (keyboards, guitar, vocals), Max Kerman (lead vocals, guitar), Mike Deangelis (guitar, vocals), Nick Dika (bass), and Tim Oxford (drums).
They exploded onto the scene with their debut album Jackson Square (2008). Personally, I still think this is their best album. Every song is good. Plus, “Ballad of Hugo Chavez” and “Oh, The Boss Is Coming!” are probably my two favorite songs they’ve made. The album led to them winning New Group of the Year at the 2010 JUNO Awards.
They released Michigan Left in 2011, and it picked up right where they left off. Another great album here. I especially like “One Foot Out the Door” and “Whistleblower.” The album won them Group of the Year at the 2012 JUNOs.
High Noon (2014) is just as good as their previous effort. “Come To Light” and “Leather Jacket” are bangers. The accolades just kept coming. At the 2015 JUNOs, they won Group of the Year again, and Rock Album of the Year for High Noon.
Morning Report (2016) got them nominated for those same two awards at the 2017 Junos, but they didn’t win either this time. “Private School” and “Passenger Seat” were the singles. They followed that with Rally Cry in 2018, which features “People’s Champ” and “Relentless.” People’s Champ is a protest song about Donald Trump.
Blink Once (2021) and Blink Twice (2022) are their most recent albums, and both keep that classic Arkells sound. While I did say earlier that I like their first album the best, there’s truly something to like about every album they’ve made. These two albums feature songs like “You Can Get It,” “All Roads,” “Reckoning,” “Floating Like,” and “Past Life.”
All the hits add up to make Arkells one of the great Canadian bands of the past 15 years. They make Canada proud, and they’ve shown no signs of slowing down. Arkells are featured prominently on Evolution 107.9, so tune in to hear the evolution of Canada’s favorite band.