JJ Thompson/The Globe and Mail
By Arkells; streaming at arkells.ca,
The pay phone is a lifeline for the humbled, and whoever is using one consistently in this day and age probably has more problems and stories than coin.
Leather Jacket, the new single from the Hamilton rockers Arkells, is a jittery, ruggedly melodic song with a good-natured chord progression. It concerns a late-night distress call from the street, placed by a troubled woman who doesn't need someone to sponsor her or romance her, but instead "just a man that sees me as some fixer-upper." She asks for understanding; Arkells' songwriter Max Kerman does as well.
We receive collect calls all the time, often without even knowing it. Will you accept the charges? It's a big question. Arkells are on the line, waiting for your answer.
Brad Wheeler