the arcs Archives

The Arcs' upcoming album Electrophonic Chronic was written largely before the 2018 death of group member Richard Swift, but new single "Heaven Is a Place" directly addresses his memory. As previously reported, Electrophonic Chronic will be released Jan. 27 on group member Dan Auerbach's Easy Eye Sound label. In the accompanying animated clip for "Heaven Is a Place," directed by previous collaborator Roboshobo, Swift can be seen floating through space in both an astronaut suit and in a vintage car, as his bandmates beckon him towards some sort of portal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?vjB89aKbLqFQ “This new record is all about honoring Swift,” Auerbach says. “It’s a way for us to say goodbye to him, by revisiting him playing and laughing, singing. It was heavy at times, but I think it was really helpful to do it.” Co-produced by Auerbach and group member Leon Michels, Electrophonic Chronic boasts contributions from fellow original Arcs members Nick Movshon and Homer Steinweiss. It was recorded between Auerbach’s Nashville studio Easy Eye Sound and New York’s Electric Lady and Diamond Mine studios, inspired by the experience of making The Arcs’ 2015 debut, Yours, Dreamily. “We got the courage to get together and say, ‘Let’s just look at these songs and see if we can put something together.’ The thing we shared with Swift so deeply was music, so the only way to get closure was to finish what we started," Michels adds. "The idea that the stuff we made would sit on a shelf forever gutted me, and I wanted it to be out in the world, because it was the product of such a joyous time."

the arcs

The Arcs Salute Late Member Richard Swift on ‘Heaven Is a Place’

Dan Auerbach Revives the Arcs for First Album Since 2015

Watch the Arcs Light Up NPR Tiny Desk’s 500th Episode

The Arcs Take a Social Justice Bent on ‘Making a Murderer’-Inspired ‘Lake Superior’

The Arcs Share New Single, ‘Young,’ Written With Silver Jews’ David Berman

Dan Auerbach’s the Arcs Bring the Blues to ‘Colbert’ With ‘Outta My Mind’ Performance

Dan Auerbach’s the Arcs Stream ‘Yours, Dreamily,’ LP in Full

Dan Auerbach’s The Arcs Share Animated Video for ‘Put a Flower in Your Pocket’

The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach Releases Psychedelic ‘Outta My Mind’ as the Arcs

IMPACT

Melissa Etheridge: ‘What Are We Gonna Do About the Gay Thing?’

Pussy-Positive Oogie-Powered Hitchhiking Hip-Hopping Orgy Serenader Comes Out of the Rabbit Hole: It’s Audley Time

Killer Mike Is Keynote Masterblaster for FIRE’s Launch as National Free Speech Defender

Lost on Boogie Mountain: How the Bee Gees’ Kid Brother, Andy Gibb, Hit the Peak of Pop Only to Die of a Coke-Broke Heart

more from spin

Cécile McLorin Salvant’s Mélusine is Imaginative and Thrilling

Blast Rites: Liturgy’s Breathtaking Avant-Garde Maximalism and More of March’s Best Metal

SPIN SETS Presents: Jason Leech

Get New Music, News, Reviews, And More Delivered Right To Your Inbox.