Arca KiCk iiiii

Released without warning as the surprise companion to volumes two through four, kiCK iiiii is the most understated entry in the whole series. In place of psychedelic club beats or crushing distortion, Arca gives us twinkling little miniatures like “Pu”, “Chiquito” and “Estrogen”, which shrink chamber music’s piano and strings down to snow-globe proportions. Arca’s heartbreaking falsetto turn on “Tierno” recalls the naked simplicity of her vocals on her 2017 self-titled album, and on “Músculos”, unsteady beats once again re-enter the frame, a reminder of the Venezuelan musician’s debt to Björk. kiCK iiiii may be the softest album in the pentalogy, but it has a hushed, glowing magnetism all its own.