The Arrivals

Chicago, IL

“Founded in Chicago in 1996, The Arrivals are The Jam meets Dillinger Four (with whom they share a member since 2005) in sound and spirit; something like Naked Raygun trying to revisit The Kinks. They play a kind of working-class punk rock that’s not patriotic, not overtly populist, but thoughtful and authentic. The songs are artfully written and delivered with urgency and forthrightness, with well-informed lyrics that center on the lives of lower-class Americans and general disillusionment with civilization. The Arrivals is real modern music from the urban Midwest. It’s rustbelt realism at its best.”