15 years is a long time between records. Chicago punk veterans The Arrivals have ended that stretch with ‘Payload,’ their first new album since 2010’s ‘Volatile Molotov,’ out now via Recess Records. It’s a triumphant return for one of the city’s most revered and enduring punk bands.
The lead single “Drill Baby Drill” confronts capitalism, neocolonialism, and the global struggle over resources. Guitarist and vocalist Isaac Thotz traces it back nearly two decades. “I wrote this song after the 2008 Republican National Convention, where it was the rallying cry for the McCain/Palin energy policy,” he explains. “The lyrics point to a dystopian future where truly precious resources like clean air, healthy food, and viable ecosystems are sacrificed for a fetishized resource like oil. They point to one of the worst parts of capitalism: that something gains value only if it can be commodified.”
The phrase came back into circulation years later. “The phrase ‘drill baby drill’ was later resurrected by Trump, which is how the song ended up on Payload,” Thotz continues. “The video then addresses the application of this worldview in U.S. geopolitics, looking back at the U.S.’s early involvement in Iran, Venezuela, and Greenland, and nodding to what’s happening with U.S. policy in those places today. The video connects to other predominant themes of the album: the destruction of the natural environment, neocolonialism, and war for resources.”
The Arrivals formed in Blue Island, IL in 1996 and have been a fixture in Chicago’s DIY punk scene ever since. Their sound lands like The Jam meets Dillinger Four (they’ve shared a member with the latter since 2005), something like Naked Raygun revisiting The Kinks. It’s working-class punk rock that’s thoughtful and authentic, pairing melody and grit with sharp, grounded storytelling about working-class American lives and a general disillusionment with civilization. Call it rustbelt realism with a beat.
Each of their four preceding albums builds on the same foundation of proto-punk, street punk, post-punk, surf, garage, mod, and classic rock, with every record expanding beyond the last. ‘Payload’ follows that tradition. “We always have it in our minds to let each song be its own thing,” says Little Dave Merriman. “We try not to repeat ourselves too much. We’ll come in with the skeleton of a song, show it around to the band and one of us will think it sounds like, say, Fugazi and another will think it sounds like James Gang. And both are correct.”
The album’s other early single, “Just Like My Brother,” carries the buoyant, earworm energy of ‘Volatile Molotov’ closer “Simple Pleasures in America,” a sing-along that keeps finding new audiences. Its video was filmed by Thotz’s son, Cyric, and captures a celebration of the families we choose.
‘Payload’ was recorded by Joe Gac (Meat Wave) at Chicago’s legendary Electrical Audio, who captured the band’s powerful, dynamic sound in a way that practically jumps out of the speakers. The Arrivals are Paddy Costello (bass), Isaac Thotz (vocals and guitar), Ronnie DiCola (drums), and Little Dave Merriman (vocals and guitar).