Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics

Background

Prior to the album's release, Mondanile described the album as the third part in a trilogy, stating: "My first record was like when you go on vacation, and you’re just like [dipping your toes] in the water. Then the second record was like, 'Alright I’m gonna do this,' and it was this moody kind of basement thing. This record is kind of rockin’. I named it Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics because it’s all about the effect of putting on a record and listening to it over and over again, and driving around and going to an arcade like when you were little."

Writing and composition

Regarding the project's change in aesthetic from experimental recordings to more song-based compositions, Mondanile noted, "I think it’s because I was on tour with Real Estate and we were playing with lots of indie bands that played pop songs, so I really feel like that influenced me. I’ve played with quite a few indie bands in America, however with Landscapes I was playing a lot more experimental shows, mainly I was making a lot weirder music!"

Citing Deerhunter, Woods, Kurt Vile and Girls as his key influences, Mondanile elaborated: "All those dudes have great songs, but they also improvise a lot. It definitely influenced me in a way for this record, because I wanted to make more songs. But it’s not going to get more and more poppy after this. I want each record to be its own unique thing that attaches to the other records, but I’m just learning how to do what I’m doing. So everything is going to sound different."

Artwork

The albums's cover photograph is taken from a postcard Mondanile purchased while visiting Lisbon, Portugal: "I was walking around in Lisbon, and there was a flea market, and I pulled it out and was like, 'This is the coolest Frank Lloyd Wright/Dario Argento-style house.' I’m really all about the house and the home; that it’s not about the recording, but about the home or the place that the recording is made in. This may be one of the last records I make at my parents’ house, because I’m getting a little old for that, and the picture is supposed to represent this very comforting image of home, and connecting that to music in a way."

Reception

In a positive review for Pitchfork, Nick Neyland praised the album's song-based direction, writing: "Fortunately, and perhaps wisely, considering the glut of soupy material out there, Arcade Dynamics is a step away from the nebulous constructs of Ducktails' last full-length record Landscapes. Instead, it edges closer to the conventional song structures of Mondanile's work in his other band."