A raw and urgent outpouring of love, longing, connection, and devotion, “Marble” captures the magical chemistry that makes Arms Akimbo one of the West Coast’s hidden treasures.
Stream: “Marble” – Arms Akimbo
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[Say the staircase was marble. Say she descended and all heads turned. Where was {special one}? Approaching now, bowing slightly, he exclaimed, How can so much grace be contained in one small package? Ooops. Had he said small package? And just stood there? Broad princelike face totally bland of expression? Poor thing! Sorry, no way, down he went, he was definitely not {special one}.]
Longtime Atwood artist-to-watch Arms Akimbo have been lighting up the airwaves with a slew of radiant alternative and indie rock upheavals for the past five years, and with their first chapter coming to a definitive end, the Los Angeles band decided to celebrate the milestone in style. The band’s self-titled fourth EP Arms Akimbo arrives alongside news of bandmember Chris Kalil’s departure, and its final track “Marble” couldn’t be a better commemoration of brotherhood and cherished moments as the electrifying four-piece transitions to a trio. A raw and urgent outpouring of love, longing, connection, and devotion, “Marble” captures the magical chemistry that makes Arms Akimbo one of the West Coast’s hidden treasures.
Standing at the top of the stairs
She’s laden marble and I can’t compare
What’ll I do with that?
Can’t compete with these suitors at bat
She’s flinching when he touches her back
He talks about the moon like in victory lap
I can’t quite hear from here
But she’s walking away
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Marble,” the fourth and final track off Arms Akimbo’s fourth EP Arms Akimbo, independently out February 26. Following 2019’s third EP Seven Dollar Paycheck, the self-titled Arms Akimbo is an expressive, dynamic, and mature collection of material, and the band’s last set of recordings with founding members Christopher Kalil. Peter Schrupp, Colin Boppell, and Matt Sutton will continue Arms Akimbo as a trio.
“This project acts as a “lost tapes”, celebrating everything fans have grown to love over the last five years, Peter Schrupp tells Atwood Magazine. “This release is filled with swirling vocal arrangements on top of upbeat rhythms, all with raw, emotion packed lyrics across a wide dynamic spectrum. The songs all underline one common theme: longing. Longing to pursue your passion when you feel stuck in the mundane. Longing for someone or something that’s just out of reach. ‘Marble” came about as I was reading a short story about true love being wasted on youth and how young people idealize it. I was so inspired I jumped to my guitar to write a song. When I finished, I came back to read the story which turned out to be much darker and more twisted than the airy idea of what I was reading.”
Schrupp adds, “Our touring schedule stopped us from recording this song for a long time but quarantine finally provided us the chance to work on it. This song ends with 3 of the 4 band members each singing different lead melodies on top of each other. This is the last recorded song that features one of our singers, Chris, before his departure from the band. It’s a beautiful moment for us because it honors the chemistry of Arms Akimbo as we begin our new journey as a 3-piece band.”
A staple of Atwood Magazine‘s features section over the past several years, Arms Akimbo have come into their own as an indie rock band striking a cool balance between introspection and action. Previous coverage praised 2019’s EP Seven Dollar Paycheck as “a vibing collection of vulnerable indie rock full of passion, warmth, and restless drive [that] captures the spirit of summer.”
Featuring the songs “Dizzy,” “Ellenda,” “Waves,” and “Marble,” Arms Akimbo continues the band’s ever-evolving sonic journey – finding them basking in a belly full of cutting overdrive and buoyant harmonies as they tell familiar, new tales of romance and reflection.
The “Marble” chorus offers a particularly stunning explosion of emotional energy:
Please
Don’t get so far from me
Please
Don’t get so far from me
Can we let go while our hearts start forming?
Can we let go while our hearts start forming?
Singer Peter Schrupp dives a little deeper into the story behind “Marble”:
“I was about to head out on tour and began reading this book of short stories by George Saunders called 10th of December. I love reading in the van, but i fell asleep so often there that I hate reading novels and the short story format lent itself much better to my nap schedule. A few days before we left, I started reading the first story, “Victory Lap” about two teenagers, Kyle and Alison. The story was from Kyle’s perspective as he watched Alison descend from a staircase and admire her beauty. It was really sweet and it set me off on a writing tangent. I jumped out of bed and wrote this song mid-story. My perspective was from the boy admiring this girl as the object of everyone’s attention, and I added other male characters for her to interact with. This song lent itself to our band, with 3 of us singing 3 different lead vocal parts over each other, the main one sung by my character, ‘please don’t get so far from me.'”
“The irony was, once I finished writing the song I went back to read the book, only to find that the story wasn’t sweet at all. Alison gets abducted and almost raped in the story until Kyle comes to her rescue…it got dark. I just started laughing because I was SO misled by the masterful writing. I was expecting something saccharine, like a bildungsroman or rom-com. What i got was a much more twisted and real approach to story-telling.”
“So months later, I have the finished recording and I decide to share it with the author. I found the contact info for the original author, George Saunders at the university he teaches at. I shared the song with him and he loved the song. It’s rad, we’ve been emailing back and forth now for a little and he’s really a brilliant mind. Even his emails are gorgeous prose.”
Another boy with a penchant for pleasure
And a serenade softer than hands
Who am I racing against?
These boys or myself….
I’m sweating cause she finally giggled
And I’m acting like I did in the past
Who says she wants anyone?
And will that even last
Hard-hitting and unmercifully expressive, “Marble” is an exhilarating release of tension and a fitting jumping off point for Arms Akimbo 2.0: The band roars to life in a sweeping conclusion to their first six years, looking to a bright future full of hope and promise, electric sound and intense feelings.
Please
Don’t get so far from me
Please
Don’t get so far from me
Can we let go while our hearts start forming?
Can we let go while our hearts start forming?
Can we let go while our hearts start forming?
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Stream: “Marble” – Arms Akimbo
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