{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}} {{Infobox album | name = Kick III | type = studio | artist = Arca | cover = Arca - KicK iii (official studio album cover).jpg | alt = | released = 1 December 2021 | recorded = 2018–2021 | studio = | genre = {{hlist|Electronic|deconstructed club|hyperpop|glitch hop|dance|psychedelic|reggaeton|cumbia|noise}} | length = 35:38 | language = {{hlist|Spanish|English}} | label = XL | producer = Arca | prev_title = Kick II | prev_year = 2021 | next_title = Kick IIII | next_year = 2021 | misc = {{Singles | name = Kick III | type = studio | single1 = Incendio | single1date = 27 September 2021 | single2 = Electra Rex | single2date = 9 November 2021 }} }}
'''''Kick III''''' (stylized as '''''KicK iii;''''' pronounced ''"kick three"'') is the sixth studio album by Venezuelan record producer and singer Arca. The album was scheduled to be released on 3 December 2021, but released early on 1 December 2021, through XL Recordings as a continuation to her 2020 record ''Kick I'', and is the third entry in the ''Kick'' quintet. ''Kick II'', ''Kick III'', ''Kick IIII'' and ''Kick IIIII'' were released the same week. ''Kick III'' is supported by lead single "Incendio" and "Electra Rex". The album received positive reviews from critics.
== Background == Upon the release of ''Kick I'', news surfaced that Arca would be releasing two more ''Kick'' albums to make a trilogy. The artist took to ''Pitchfork'' to say: "There will be 5 volumes. The third one is a little bit more introverted than ''Kick I'', a little bit more like my self-titled album, I guess. The fourth one is piano only, no vocals. Right now, the least defined one, strangely, is the third one. It's all gestating right now [...] Each ''Kick'' exists in a kind of quantum state until the day that I send it to mastering. I try to not commit until I have to. But I have a vision for it. The second one is heavy on backbeats, vocal manipulation, mania, and craziness."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Live From Quarantine, It's the Arca Show|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/interview/live-from-quarantine-its-the-arca-show/|access-date=2021-10-04|website=Pitchfork|date=20 May 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
In the following year, Arca released her extended play ''Madre'' and took part in ''Dawn of Chromatica'', a remix album by Lady Gaga, where she remixed the Ariana Grande collaboration "Rain on Me".<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-09-07|title=Lady Gaga's 'Chromatica' Remix Album Unlocks The Thrilling Potential Of The Original|url=https://junkee.com/lady-gaga-chromatica-remix/307877|access-date=2021-10-04|website=Junkee|language=en-US}}</ref> While talking about the song on social media, Arca stated: "It's also the last time I playfully deconstruct my songs 'Time' and 'Mequetrefe', as we say goodbye to the ''Kick I'' era and move into the ''Kick II'' era and beyond".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Arca|first=Doña|date=3 September 2021|title=@arca1000000: "It's also the last time I playfully deconstruct my songs Time and Mequetrefe as we say goodbye to the KiCk i era and move into the kIcK ii era and beyond"|url=https://twitter.com/arca1000000/status/1433553372276158497|access-date=4 October 2021|website=Twitter}}</ref> On September 27, the producer released the single "Incendio" to critical acclaim.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-09-28|title=Listen to Arca's entrancing new single 'Incendio'|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/listen-to-arcas-entrancing-new-single-incendio-3056491|access-date=2021-10-04|website=NME|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-09-27|title=Arca Shares New Song "Incendio," Announces Charity Concert Film|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/arca-shares-new-song-incendio-announces-charity-concert-film-listen/|access-date=2021-10-04|website=Pitchfork|language=en-US}}</ref> ''Kick III'' was announced on November 9, alongside the single release of "Electra Rex". It was to be released the same day as ''Kick II''. Arca's description of the album had updated significantly by this time, described as "a portal directly into the more manic, violently euphoric and aggressively psychedelic sound palettes in the series" and "the most incendiary entry in the ''Kick'' universe."<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-11-09|title=Arca announces another new album, KicK iii|url=https://ra.co/news/76374|access-date=2021-11-09|website=Resident Advisor|language=en-US}}</ref> With ''Kick IIII''<nowiki/>'s announcement, Arca confirmed ''Kick III''<nowiki/>'s sonic palette would focus "more on heavy club music".<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=2021-11-18|title=Arca 'Queers the Void' With New Album 'Kick iiii'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/arca-kick-iiii-queer-1259500/|access-date=2021-11-29|magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref>
The album was released early on 1 December 2021,<ref name="MC"/><ref>{{Cite tweet |user=MutantFaith |number=1401536506649513986 |title=Arca explaining how the finalized version of kIcK ii has significant differences from the currently circulating fan-made compilation, and confirming a FIFTH Kick installment 🖤🩸❕}}</ref> one day after the release of ''Kick II''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/arca-releases-kick-ii-project-early-3108211|title=Arca releases 'KICK ii' project early|access-date=December 1, 2021|website=NME|date=November 30, 2021}}</ref> Its cover art was photographed by Frederik Heyman.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-02-21|title=Conoce a Frederik Heyman, el artista que creó el mundo futurista del nuevo single de Arca|url=https://www.ismorbo.com/conoce-a-frederik-heyman-el-artista-que-creo-el-mundo-futurista-del-nuevo-single-de-arca/|access-date=2021-10-04|website=MOR.BO|language=es-CL}}</ref>
==Composition== ''Kick III'' is a deconstructed club, glitch hop,<ref>{{cite web|url= https://spectrumculture.com/2021/12/05/arca-kick-ii-iii-iiii-iiiii-review/|title= Arca: Kick ii/iii/iiii/iiiii|work=Spectrum Culture|last=DuBois|first=Aymeric|date=6 December 2021|access-date=6 December 2021}}</ref> psychedelic,<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.stereogum.com/2168777/arca-kick-iii-review/reviews/album-of-the-week/|title= Album Of The Week: Arca KicK iii|last=Rettig|first=James|work=Stereogum|date=30 November 2021|access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref> reggaeton,<ref>{{cite magazine|url= https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/arca-kick-iiii-queer-1259500/|title= Arca 'Queers the Void' With New Album 'Kick iiii'|last=Lopez|first=Julyssa|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=17 November 2021|access-date=21 November 2021}}</ref> cumbia,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theartsdesk.com/new-music/album-arca-kick-ii-kick-iii-kick-iiii|title=Album: Arca - KICK ii / KICK iii / KICK iiii|last=Muggs|first=Joe|date=27 November 2021|access-date=30 November 2021}}</ref> dance,<ref name="Exclaim-review"/> and electronic noise<ref name="Guardian-review"/> album. Opener "Bruja" is "a ballroom track, filled with sass and contagious energy".<ref name="NME-review"/> "Incendio" is an industrial rap song that "showcases Ghersi’s sound design at its most inventive. Noises from passing vehicles get as much space as ballistic percussive clamor, and the rampage makes her shapeshifting vocal delivery—breathless quasi-raps, fiery shouts, childlike snickering—consistently hair-raising"<ref name="AV-Club-review"/><ref name="L&Q-review"/> "Rubberneck" is a blend of IDM and operatic pop<ref name="TLOBF-review"/> and contains "punishing industrial thuds" and "a sense of controlled chaos".<ref name="Skinny-review"/> "Señorita" is a "glitchy"<ref name="AV-Club-review"/> hip hop-inflected song<ref name="Skinny-review"/> that functions as the "record's punchy lyrical centerpiece".<ref name="Exclaim-review"/> "Electra Rex" is "underpinned by a cavernous trap beat that makes way for syncopated percussions and combines the Greek mythological tragedies of Electra and Oedipus Rex.<ref name="NME-review"/> "Skullqueen "mimicks club-goers going out to catch some fresh air before heading back in the euphoric darkness of Arca’s glitch hop bash".<ref name="TLOBF-review"/> Album closer "Joya" is a ballad that has been compared to ''Homogenic''-era Björk<ref name="L&Q-review"/> and "closes ''iii'' on a note of all-encompassing peace".<ref name="Exclaim-review"/>
==Critical reception== {{Album ratings | ADM = 7.7/10<ref name="ADM">{{cite web|url=http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/13112/Arca-Kick-ii-iii-iiii-iiiii.aspx|title=''Kick ii, iii, iiii, iiiii'' by Arca Reviews|publisher=AnyDecentMusic?|access-date=July 25, 2025}}</ref> | MC = 78/100<ref name="MC">{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/kick-iii/arca|title=KicK iii by Arca Reviews and Tracks|publisher=Metacritic|access-date=25 December 2021}}</ref> | rev1 = AllMusic | rev1score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref name="Allmusic-review">{{Cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/kick-iii-mw0003628349?1638917399326|title=kick iii - Arca|work=Allmusic|last=Phares|first=Heather|access-date=7 December 2021}}</ref> | rev2 = ''The A.V. Club'' | rev2score = B−<ref name="AV-Club-review">{{Cite web |url=https://www.avclub.com/avant-pop-artist-arca-undercuts-her-musical-impact-by-p-1848133292|title=Avant-pop artist Arca undercuts her musical impact by piling on too much at once|last=Freedman|first=Max|work=The A.V. Club|date=3 December 2021|access-date=3 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206023110/https://www.avclub.com/avant-pop-artist-arca-undercuts-her-musical-impact-by-p-1848133292/amp|archive-date=December 6, 2021}}</ref> | rev3 = ''Evening Standard'' | rev3score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref name="ES-review">{{Cite web |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/music/arca-kick-ii-iii-iiii-iiiii-review-b969471.html|title=Arca - KiCk ii/iii/iiii/iiiii review: 47 tracks of wild electronic experimentation|last=Smyth|first=David|work=Evening Standard|date=3 December 2021|access-date=3 December 2021}}</ref> | rev4 = ''Exclaim!'' | rev4score = 8/10<ref name="Exclaim-review">{{Cite web |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/arca_kick_cycle_ii_iii_iiii_iiiii_album_review|title=Arca's 'KICK' Cycle Is an Explosive Exploration of Her Multidimensionality|last=Hopfe|first=Safiya|work=Exclaim!|date=3 December 2021|access-date=3 December 2021}}</ref> | rev5 = ''The Guardian'' | rev5score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref name="Guardian-review">{{Cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/dec/03/arca-kick-ii-iii-iiii-iiiii-review|title=Arca: Kick ii, iii, iiii, iiiii review – a wild ride to the dark, daring side of pop|last=Petritis|first=Alex|work=The Guardian|date=3 December 2021|access-date=3 December 2021}}</ref> | rev6 = ''The Line of Best Fit'' | rev6score = 8/10<ref name="TLOBF-review">{{Cite web |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/reviews/albums/arca-kick-ii-iii-iiii-iiiii-album-review|title=Arca unleashes her daring mutant universe in the completed KICK anthology|last=Dziri|first=Red|work=The Line of Best Fit|date=3 December 2021|access-date=3 December 2021}}</ref> | rev7 = ''Loud and Quiet'' | rev7score = 8/10<ref name="L&Q-review">{{Cite web |url=https://www.loudandquiet.com/reviews/arca-kick/|title=Arca - KICK (ii-iiiii) Album Review|last=Butchard|first=Skye|work=Loud & Quiet|date=3 December 2021|access-date=3 December 2021}}</ref> | rev8 = ''NME'' | rev8score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref name="NME-review">{{Cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/arca-ii-iii-iiii-album-review-3108756|title=Arca – 'Kick ii', 'Kick iii', 'Kick iiii' & 'Kick 'iiiii' review: a sprawling departure from definition|last=Hunt|first=El|work=NME|date=3 December 2021|access-date=3 December 2021}}</ref> | rev9 = ''Pitchfork'' | rev9score = 8.3/10<ref name="Pitchfork-review">{{Cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/arca-kick-ii-kick-iii-kick-iiii-kick-iiiii/|title=Arca album reviews: KICK ii/KicK iii/kick iiii/kiCK iiiii|last=Sherburne|first=Philip|work=Pitchfork|date=7 December 2021|access-date=7 December 2021}}</ref> | rev10 = ''The Skinny'' | rev10score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref name="Skinny-review">{{Cite web |url=https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/reviews/albums/arca-kick-ii-iiiii|title=Arca album reviews: Kick ii - iiiii|last=Wade|first=Lewis|work=The Skiinny|date=3 December 2021|access-date=3 December 2021}}</ref> }}
On the review aggregate site Metacritic, ''Kick III'' received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 from 14 critics.<ref name="MC"/> Red Dziri, writing for ''The Line of Best Fit'' called ''Kick III'' "one of [Arca]'s most accomplished works to date".<ref name="TLOBF-review"/> ''The A.V. Club''{{'}}s Max Freedman called "Incendio" the "clear peak" of the entire quintet.<ref name="AV-Club-review"/> Safiya Hopfe of ''Exclaim!'' opined that "the album bears little narrative consistency—only expansions and distillations of sound which create an ambience so overpowering it is inescapable".<ref name="Exclaim-review"/> However, the ''Evening Standard'' writer David Smyth called the project "hyperactive and jittery to a generally irritating extent".<ref name="ES-review"/>
''Kick III'' was named the second best album of 2021 by ''The Atlantic'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/12/best-albums-2021/620994/|title=THE 10 BEST ALBUMS OF 2021|last=Kornhaber|first=Spencer|work=The Atlantic|date=December 14, 2021|access-date=March 27, 2022}}</ref> and was nominated for Best Electronic Album at the 2022 Libera Awards.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2022/music/news/japanese-breakfast-indie-a2im-2022-libera-awards-1235212419/|title=Japanese Breakfast, Jason Isbell, Arlo Parks Lead Indie-Music Collective A2IM's 2022 Libera Awards Nominees|work=Variety|date=March 23, 2022|access-date=March 25, 2022|first=Jem|last=Aswad}}</ref>
==Track listing== All tracks written and produced by Arca, unless noted otherwise. {{Track listing | extra_column = Producer(s) | total_length = 35:38 | title1 = Bruja | note1 = {{translation|Witch}} | writer1 = {{hlist|Alejandra Ghersi|Daniel Benza}} | length1 = 3:50 | title2 = Incendio | note2 = {{translation|Fire}} | writer2 = {{hlist|Ghersi|Mark Luva}} | length2 = 2:44 | title3 = Morbo | note3 = {{translation|Morbid}} | length3 = 2:15 | title4 = Fiera | note4 = {{translation|Fierce}} | length4 = 4:28 | title5 = Skullqueen | writer5 = | length5 = 2:33 | title6 = Electra Rex | length6 = 2:08 | title7 = Ripples | length7 = 2:09 | title8 = Rubberneck | writer8 = {{hlist|Ghersi|Max Tundra}} | length8 = 2:28 | title9 = Señorita | note9 = {{translation|Miss}} | writer9 = {{hlist|Ghersi|Machinedrum}} | length9 = 2:21 | title10 = My 2 | writer10 = | length10 = 3:15 | title11 = Intimate Flesh | length11 = 3:32 | title12 = Joya | note12 = {{translation|Jewel}} | length12 = 3:55 | extra2 = {{hlist|Arca|Luva}} | extra1 = {{hlist|Arca|Benza}} | extra8 = {{hlist|Arca|Max Tundra}} | extra9 = {{hlist|Arca|Machinedrum}} }}
==Release history== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |+List of release dates, showing region, format(s), label(s) and reference(s) ! scope="col"| Region ! scope="col"| Date ! scope="col"| Format(s) ! scope="col"| Label(s) ! scope="col"| {{abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}} |- ! scope="row" | Various | 1 December 2021 | {{hlist|Streaming|digital download}} | XL | align="center"|<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-10-04|title=Arca anuncia los detalles de 'KICK ii', su nuevo disco|url=https://www.dodmagazine.es/arca-anuncia-nuevo-disco-kick-ii/|access-date=2021-10-04|website=Dod Magazine|language=es}}</ref> |}
==Charts== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |+ Chart performance for ''Kick III'' ! scope="col"| Chart (2022) ! scope="col"| Peak<br />position |- !scope="row"|UK Independent Album Breakers (Official Charts Company)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/independent-albums-breakers-chart/|title=Official Independent Album Breakers Chart Top 20 – 27 May 2020|website=Official Charts |access-date=27 May 2022}}</ref> |14 |- !scope="row"|US Current Album Sales (''Billboard'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/arca/chart-history/tcl/|title=Arca Chart History (Current Album Sales)|magazine=Billboard|access-date=1 June 2022}}</ref> |80 |}
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Arca}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:2021 albums Category:Albums produced by Arca (musician) Category:Arca (musician) albums Category:XL Recordings albums Category:Reggaeton albums Category:Tecnocumbia albums Category:Psychedelic music albums Category:Noise music albums Category:Sequel albums Category:Hyperpop albums