Arcane Arcade’s Release New EP: Strange Departures!

As someone who was already familiar with the rad Florida pop punk band, Arcane Arcade, their new album, Strange Departure’s, opening track, Prepare for Departure is aptly named. By which I mean the instrumental opening immediately evokes emotional discordance and lets me know that this was not going to be nearly as light hearted sounding as their first release.

The next track, “Cauterize”, kicks in with great guitar and bass work and powerful and rich melodic vocals. I’m a drummer, so I loved the hi-hat accents. Just as I’m beginning to rock, they drop out the drums and do this great gothicy group vocal part. Lyrically the song speaks to one’s inability to never recover from the pain of personal loss, so that vocal part makes even more sense with the gloom it adds.

“Loitering” fits right into that discordance that I heard in the opening. Musically the song somehow manages to be catchy while also forcing me to sit in discomfort which I guess fits the lyrics which speak to feeling stuck some place you don’t want to be, shouldn’t be and can’t get away from.

“Awkward Moments’” gentle opening gives the listener a reprieve from pain and anguish and strives to be a bit more “positive” in that the song verges on the precipice between an 80’s power ballad and an Alkaline Trio style emo song about love refused. I say positive because while the song’s lyrics certainly brings up inner doubts and insecurities, it also seems to be hinting at finally meeting someone special even if it starts with a couple weeks of “awkward moments”.

“Heavy Conversations” has killer vocals in the intro that I can see being uber powerful live at a show. My first thought is that I love three-piece bands that can create a full and rich sound like these dudes. All hail the power trio. My next thought was how the vocals at one point reminded me of Buck from Tampa’s Flat Stanley, one of my favorite bands of all time. High praise indeed. Flat Stanley doesn’t play very much anymore, but this would be great to see them on the same bill.

“Voidmail” is a song about self-awareness with lyrics that could fit on an Off With Their Heads album. The quite verse into bigger chorus works really well with the song. Like all their songs, its about the political nature of the world and the efficacy of a representative government’s ability to quell corporate greed in the face of overwhelming global capitalistic pressures. Oh wait…no I mean the songs are about personal social-emotional health as one struggles to overcome life’s challenges.

Check out their songs on Spotify or on my punk playlist full of rad songs!

And since I love me the live punk rock, check out this live video:

Check out their socials: IG, FB and Bandcamp

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