''Kick IIII'' (stylized as ''kick iiii'') is the seventh studio album by Venezuelan record producer and singer

Arca ARCA or Arca may refer to: Companies * Arca-Filmproduktion GmbH, the German film production company of Gero Wecker * Arca Fondi SGR, Italian asset management company * Arca South, an industrial estate in the Philippines * ARCAspace, an aerospac ...

. The album was scheduled to be released on 3 December 2021, but released early on 2 December 2021, through

XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been ran and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. Although only releasing an average of six alb ...

as a continuation to her 2021 record '' Kick III'', and is the fourth entry in the ''Kick'' quintet. ''Kick IIII'' was supported by the accompanying lead single "Queer" featuring

Planningtorock Jam Rahuoja Rostron (born 25 January 1972), better known by their stage name Planningtorock, is an English electronic musician and record producer who lives in Tallinn, Estonia. Identity & Pronouns Rostron identifies as transgender and non-b ...

, and features cellist Oliver Coates,

Garbage Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste prod ...

frontwoman

Shirley Manson Shirley Ann Manson (born 26 August 1966) is a Scottish musician and actress. She is best known as the lead singer of the American alternative rock band Garbage. Manson gained media attention for her forthright style, rebellious attitude, and di ...

, as well as production from Cardopusher.

Background

Upon the release of ''

Kick I ''Kick I'' (stylized as ''KiCk i''; pronounced "kick one") is the fourth studio album by Venezuelan electronic record producer Arca. Recorded between Barcelona and London, the album was released on 26 June 2020 through XL Recordings. ''Kick I ...

'', news surfaced that Arca would be releasing three more ''Kick'' albums to make a tetralogy. The artist took to ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' to say: "There will be four volumes. The third one is a little bit more introverted than ''Kick I'', a little bit more like my self-titled album, I guess. The fourth one is

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...

only, no vocals. Right now, the least defined one, strangely, is the third one. It's all gestating right now ..Each ''Kick'' exists in a kind of

quantum state In quantum physics, a quantum state is a mathematical entity that provides a probability distribution for the outcomes of each possible measurement on a system. Knowledge of the quantum state together with the rules for the system's evolution in ...

until the day that I send it to mastering. I try to not commit until I have to. But I have a vision for it. The second one is heavy on backbeats, vocal manipulation,

mania Mania, also known as manic syndrome, is a mental and behavioral disorder defined as a state of abnormally elevated arousal, affect, and energy level, or "a state of heightened overall activation with enhanced affective expression together wit ...

, and craziness." In the following year, Arca released her

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

'' Madre'' and took part in ''

Dawn of Chromatica ''Dawn of Chromatica'' is the third remix album by American singer Lady Gaga, released on September 3, 2021, by Streamline and Interscope Records. Consisting of remixes of songs from her sixth studio album, '' Chromatica'' (2020), the album embr ...

'', a

remix album A remix album is an album consisting of remixes or rerecorded versions of an artist's earlier released material. The first act who employed the format was American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson (''Aerial Pandemonium Ballet'', 1971). As of 20 ...

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

, where she remixed the

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...

collaboration " Rain on Me". While talking about the song on

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, Arca stated: "It's also the last time I playfully deconstruct my songs 'Time' and 'Mequetrefe', as we say goodbye to the ''Kick I'' era and move into the ''Kick II'' era and beyond". ''Kick IIII'' was announced on November 18, alongside the release of the lead single "Queer" featuring vocals from English musician planningtorock. Arca described the album as "entry of sensual charge in the cycle; my own faith made into song, a posthuman celestial sparkle, psychosexual pulsewidth modulation, queering the void, abyss alchemically transmuted into a deconstruction of what is beautiful, it is a healing spell, recognition of the alien inside, a bursting apart of old skin, fresh new sinew rippling outward from a beating core, the first prenatal kick—proof that there is a sentience with a will beyond its creators’ control expressing itself from within the womb."

Critical reception

On review aggregate site

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, ''Kick IIII'' received a score of 77 out of 100, based on reviews from 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Track listing

All tracks written and produced by

, unless noted otherwise. Interpolates * "Alien Inside" contains interpolation of previous Arca track: "Construct" from the mixtape "

@@@@@ "@@@@@" is a DJ mix released as a single by Venezuelan record producer Arca. The mix premiered on NTS on 19 February 2020. It was officially released on 21 February 2020 via XL Recordings. Background and release On 18 February 2020, Arca anno ...

References

{{Arca Arca (musician) albums 2021 albums XL Recordings albums Albums produced by Arca (musician) Alternative R&B albums Witch house (genre) albums Sequel albums