Midweek Music Break: Arkells, “Coffee”

Arkells is* something of an “it” band, from Hamilton, Ontario — but only in the sense that a band’s “it-ness” can span several years. In Arkells’ case, this span would range from their first Canadian tour in 2008, through 2010 (Juno New Group of the Year), through 2012 (Juno Group of the Year), to now (preparing to release their third album (High Noon) on the heels of a new EP (Arkells Sing Motown). From what I’ve read of them — granted, in only the past week — I’d have difficulty begrudging them an ounce of success: they’re, well, good guys making good.

The group’s name comes from Arkell Street in their hometown, where they apparently grew up and first started playing music. If you visit Google Maps’ Street View, you can “walk” the length of the street in a few minutes: three blocks of modest brick homes with trim, treed lawns. It’s not one of those streets that make you think, y’know, troubled neighborhood.

The good-guyness certainly shows in the 2013 video for “Coffee.” I loved the writeup about it on the band’s blog:

Before we hit the old dusty trail to begin our European tour, we are very happy to share with you our newly finished “Coffee” music video. Shot in Hamilton, ON, last Christmas, this video features not only the chips off the ole blocks, but the old blocks themselves. This was our fathers’ first time shooting a music video, and our directors Dave Dunham and Karl Dilpelino, did a great job capturing the senior members of the Arkells family. We had a great time spending the day shooting with our dads…

(“Our fathers’ first”: FIRST. Ha!)

The song itself has no particular association with Hamilton, with fathers, or with fathers’-and-sons together. For that matter, the association with coffee is almost incidental, simply supplying a context, a venue, for the story to play out. It’s just a classic straight-ahead-rock torturous-breakup number, in which the narrator — openly or not — can’t help digging at the wound: You left me for that other guy? What’s it like when you’re with him? It’s an interesting, self-revealing clutch of behaviors he imagines for the new guy: “Does he hit you? Does he hold you? Does he listen? Or cut you off when you’re speaking?”

The guys’ fathers don’t seem inclined to torture themselves about anything at the moment, unless it’s technology. I’d like to report that yes, the “old blocks” themselves were really playing guitar, drums, etc. Alas, I don’t know!

[Lyrics]

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* The third-person singular is the right verb form, right? I can never decide about this. I mean, if I said “Arcade Fire is…” I’d never give it a second glance. But “Arkells” (or “Pixies,” etc.) — well, befuddlement. Sometimes it seems like everything is at least 25% more difficult than it needs to be.