Feature: Arcane Arcade Decodes ‘Summer Funerals’
How did you come up with the theme?
The theme came together as a happy accident. We were writing songs for our first full length and after we got a handful of songs in, we started to feel like there was a certain vibe. A lot of the lyrics are about looking back on past choices and where they can lead, and that sort of grew from where the instrumentals naturally took the songs. We drift in and out of genres, and this album and it's theme take on a lot of characteristics of old outlaw country, but it's a bullet shot through the gun of punk rock, so to speak.
What impact do you hope 'Summer Funerals' will have on your audience?
We're fans of the whole album format, not so much sound bites and 30 second social media bites. We wrote the songs and put the album together in a way that calls back to when we were teenagers digging into a new album. You would want to listen all the way through with no distraction, dissecting the lyrics and the chord changes, the liner notes and drum fills. That's what we want the audience to get out of this release, something to sink your teeth into.
Can you talk about any standout tracks on 'Summer Funerals' and what makes them special to you?
The lead track “Flowers” is one that became an early favorite of ours when we were writing for this album and quickly made a home in our regular set list. “The Worst Thing I Could Hear” is some of our better songwriting. We stretched our legs a little bit writing that song, experimenting with some different dynamics and sounds. For something a little off the beaten path for your typical melodic punk release, “Vicious/Ambitious” has some of the most blatant cowpunk influence we've written into a song.
Can you tell us more about you as a band?
We started out in 2020, went through a couple lineup adjustments before we landed with the three-piece piece of Matt Shelley (lead vocals, bass), Brad McBride (drums, backup vocals), and Jeremy Roberts (guitar). Our goal is to write songs that we like first and foremost! If you can't enjoy your own music, why even do it? We take influence from a lot of bands, particularly stuff like NOFX, Hot Water Music, Jawbreaker, Green Day, Taking Back Sunday and Against Me!
Can you share an instance where you felt a strong connection with the crowd during a show?
We typically play loud, rager punk sets in dive bars or breweries, but one of our favorite shows was sort of an intimate acoustic show we put together at one of our favorite arcade bars, Potion Portal in St. Petersburg FL. It was just cool to have friends, fans and community sing back your songs in a way totally different than how you wrote them. Makes you feel like you're part of something.
