“Arizona” is the latest release by Barking Poets, an outstanding English trio based in London. It’s their first piece of work this year, arriving as an adequate follow-up of “Southsea Sounds,” an incredible EP released in 2023 that you should also check out as soon as possible. For those who somehow missed our previous articles about this powerful trio, Barking Poets combines several different but complementary styles to illustrate such rich and luxurious sonic imagery. Perhaps melodic punk rock comes to mind first, but you’ll notice how some of the finest properties borrowed from classic punk rock, alternative rock, indie rock, and power pop found their way into this sonic equation. These experienced musicians blend the late nineties and early noughties punk rock nostalgia with some of the finest elements taken from the contemporary sound, making “Arizona” such a marvelous piece that will unquestionably appeal to even the pickiest music enthusiasts. They also use those additional elements as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details to uplift their latest single to new heights while remaining loyal to the primary sonic direction. It’s one of those tracks that wraps around your listening apparatus and refuses to let go long after it ends.
As soon as you press play, you’ll notice that these folks are not joking around with their sound. Barking Poets strike hard with impressive vocal, sonic, and rhythmic maneuvers that vividly showcase their natural progression as superb songwriters and musicians. “Arizona” has a perfect structure, adorned with intricate segments, brilliant ideas, and outstanding musicianship, so it’s one of those melodic punk rock songs that will immediately grab your attention. Of course, the excellent vocal performance is the first thing you’ll notice on this ear-appealing sonic voyage. The impressive vocal range seamlessly balances low, mid, and high notes, decorating everything these experienced musicians tried to achieve with their new tune. The passionate, sincere, confident, powerful vocal harmonies command attention and guide the listening apparatus from scratch to finish, emphasizing all the segments and orchestrations with such precision and finesse. In the meantime, the guitar works reign supreme in the mix, delivering a powerful interplay between rhyme and lead guitars. You’ll notice an entire amalgam of palm-muted, regular, and arpeggiated chord progressions and riffs resonating on one side while the other delivers catchy, memorable, engaging melodies, harmonies, and other sonic maneuvers. Also, it’s nearly mindblowing how all those vocal maneuvers match guitar works harmoniously, making “Arizona” such a pleasant listening experience worth repeating over and over again.
Of course, this epic sonic journey wouldn’t be complete without a rock-solid rhythm section. You’ll notice how the equally detailed, audible, warm-sounding basslines rumble beneath all those guitar works, providing more than necessary heftiness, clearness, and deepness while binding all those instrumentations together. These basslines are rich, dense, and heavy giving those guitar layers more warmness and power. In the meantime, the exceptional drumming performance keeps everything in line while dictating groove and tempo with such precision. The comprehensive collection of cleverly assembled, flawlessly performed, well-accentuated, moderate beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics emphasize those chord progressions and basslines on an entirely new level. Barking Poets thought about everything while writing and composing their latest single, so if the guitars shape a perfect backdrop for all the vocals to shine upon, then the rhythm section serves as a backbone, holding everything together. Their dedication to the craft goes beyond comprehension many times throughout the entire song.
“Arizona” is a fascinating sonic display of Barking Poets’ songwriting, composing, arranging, and producing abilities. Their knowledge, experience, creativity, and skills shine from all those incredible vocal, sonic, and rhythmic maneuvers, proving they’re not here only to play punk rock, but to elevate its sound to an entirely new level. Their new track delivers a fresh, unique, innovative take on punk rock sound, and you’ll gladly place “Arizona” on your playlist. It will become a staple whenever you crave a catchy, memorable, engaging melodic punk rock experience. The single is available on all streaming platforms. Don’t miss it!
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