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KiCk i
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KiCk i Image
Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 149 Ratings

  • Summary: The fourth full-length studio release for the electronic artist/producer features guest appearances from Björk, Rosalía, Shygirl, and SOPHIE.
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. Exclaim
    Jun 25, 2020
    90
    This is Ghersi in her truest form — which is to say that it is many forms at once. The record zigzags between styles and moods at a breakneck pace, collapsing genre in its wake and crafting new pop forms – never has an Arca album held so many moments of pure songcraft.
  2. Beats Per Minute
    Jun 29, 2020
    84
    The sensory overload she tends to serve up will continue to confound many – even if this is her most accessible and celebratory record to date. Needless to say, her presentation of what she describes as “gender euphoria,” provides the perfect blueprint to a more healthy, embracing, and confident exploration of the concept and conversation of gender and identity in popular music.
  3. Slant Magazine
    Jun 25, 2020
    80
    By far the bounciest, most ecstatic song cycle of Arca’s career, the album is a celebration of actualization, whether that’s spurned by finding harmony internally or in communion with another.
  4. musicOMH.com
    Jul 2, 2020
    80
    The record dazzles with its detail, beguiles with its lyrical performances and leaves a lasting impression with powerful songwriting.
  5. The Line of Best Fit
    Jun 25, 2020
    75
    KiCk I is a consistently enjoyable, so the fact it still feels like something of an anti-climax is testament only to Arca’s history of braveness and originality.
  6. Q Magazine
    Jun 30, 2020
    60
    Her multiple selves clash more often than they connect. [Aug 2020, p.110]
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  7. The Quietus
    Jun 29, 2020
    50
    What could and should have been a coolly assured olympic plunge is instead a remarkably ungainly near-belly-flop of an album, weirdly devoid of the dense musicality, crooked charm and sheer kinetic potency which characterise Ghersi's works to date. ... The problem with KiCk i's particular brand of spontaneity is that it feels procedural and expository, rather than organic. It can seem, when the smoke clears here and there, a bit hollow.

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User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 43
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 43
  3. Negative: 4 out of 43
  1. Animespora
    Jul 1, 2020
    10
    Genius for a generation that isn’t ready for it. Arca screams. Arca made Björk sing in Spanish. Arca is Sexual. Arca is here to stay!.
  2. Hosomy
    Aug 20, 2021
    10
    They transcend what music is to go beyond what is imagined in defining what music is
  4. phillippyle
    Jun 26, 2020
    10
    perfect, I cannot get over the shygirl feature or rip the slit or just how arca generally can produce any genre???
  5. eliluc123
    Jun 26, 2020
    10
    such a strong album! It’s very cohesive and show us a message through every song. Miss Arca did it again.
  6. soundmate
    Jun 26, 2020
    9
    Sorry for not reviewing this album before, I was too busy jamming to it. First of all, I must say that I first noticed Arca in 2018 after sheSorry for not reviewing this album before, I was too busy jamming to it. First of all, I must say that I first noticed Arca in 2018 after she announced she had recorded a collaboration with Rosalía. I immediately looked for her music on Spotify and, by the first song, I had already become obsessed. She is a very unique artist, a very empowered woman that knows exactly what she wants. She writtes, she produces,; she makes music like no other is doing right now. With your permission, Arca is the future of music and is the music everybody expected from the future.
    Nevertheless, "KiCk i" is very different from her previous record. Arca's music has always been very difficult to typecast but I really think that she makes experimental avant hardcore-pop music. Yeah, a weird but very successful and exciting combination that we were looking for and love. This more pop-orientated record of the Venezuelan musician redirects Arca's career to a more commercial place specially in tracks like "KLK" or "Time". However, leaving the experimental music behind is never a mistake and does not mean that you are less of an artist or taking steps back. Pop music fans have been struggling with a hip-hop apocalypse since Drake became an international rapper in mid-2016. A nightmare, literally a nightmare. Ariana Grande and Katy Perry were there releasing albums and another kind of projects but didn't make it to the top because there was always a rapper on the Hot 100 top spot. Let me tell you a secret: the music industry didn't fail because of digital piracy, it failed because pop music fans had nothing to rely on. Going back to the origins of pop music with a bunch more bubblegum and disco-influenced songs is something that has been demanded for quite a time. Thus, going back to Arca, I really feel like she shouldn't be discredited for moving to a more commercial place. She is just giving the people what has been demanded, and I personally love it.
    "KiCk i" is a very nice record filled with harmonies, digital distortion and the best collaborators an artist like Arca can have. Universally acclaimed musicians like Björk and Rosalía; amazing Grammy-nominated producers like Sophie and very interesting artists like Shygirl make this project the unification of 2020+ pop royalty, to be honest. Arca singing for almost the first time has also been very exciting to experience since her voice compliments the essence of her music perfectly. Arca had the formula, she had the pieces of the puzzle and she decided to put them together. Girl, she's smart. Since she decided to move to Barcelona (can you hear me cry out of joy?) and leave London, her music has turned into a more gold Mediterranean thing, where talks about her thoughts and experiences and creates a wonderful world of diversity, inclusivity and acceptance. Although I must say that the mix of hardcore pop and avant-pop sometimes feel like a weird combination between "The Scream" by Edvard Munch and a Warhol painting (like Taylor Swift's "Reputation" but in a nice way), the record is still is very interesting to listen to; it tells you both sides of the moon.
    In conclusion, "KiCk i" is an amazing work of art that feels like Arca's bachelor's degree graduating from maturation, growing up, actualization, acceptance and embracing both your tragedies and happy moments. It sounds like glory and freedom. Just put your headphones on, turn the volume as high as possible and build a party or write a poem, just do what your heart needs to beat louder than ever.    … Expand
  7. andresc
    Jun 26, 2020
    9
    This is definitely my favorite release of 2020.
    Arca at her best - is it perfect? nope. is it real? yes. Kick i is cohesive and has some    This is definitely my favorite release of 2020.
    Arca at her best - is it perfect? nope. is it real? yes. Kick i is cohesive and has some amazing collabs. Songs like Riquiquí, Calor, Afterwards and KLK made this album a beautiful body of work.    … Expand
  8. cruelchanges
    Jun 26, 2020
    0
    Um das piores coisas que já ouvi na vida. Arca é ume mulhere não-binarie muite esquisite.

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Awards & Rankings

53
#53 Most Discussed Album of 2020