Atwood Magazine Premieres New Single From Arts Fishing Club

Atwood Magazine announced the upcoming release of Human Part 1, the first of two forthcoming EPs from Nashville-based folk-rock collective ARTS FISHING CLUB, and premiered its lead single "Icarus." The songs on Human pose serious questions as they invite the listener to have pure, unadulterated fun. "Icarus" is a take on the Greek fable of the man with wax wings whose arrogance inspired him to fly close to the sun. His wings melted, and he fell to his tragic demise into the sea--it's a satirical guitar party that encourages the song's subject to find humility before it's too late. "'Icarus' is a manic party jam soaked in satire," says Arts Fishing Club frontman Chris Kessenich. "It pokes fun at a character who has gotten a larger-than-life sized head hanging out with his larger-than-life 'friends.' He thinks that he is special and that his name deserves to be preserved 'up on the shelf' next to all the works of the world's great influencers. He's drowning in ego."

"'Icarus' is the sort of check-yourself-at-the-door dose of humility and reality we could all benefit from," says Atwood Magazine. "Rich and poor, young and old, people of all colors and creeds: We're not all that different from one another, yet we keep ourselves divided by countless barriers, convincing ourselves that in order for one group to be special, another group must not be special. Why can't we all be beautiful? Why can't we all be important and powerful, independent yet together? Tongue-in-cheek and both wily and fun, 'Icarus' calls for all to stand together, rather than apart; for us to lift each other up as a whole, rather than strive to distinguish ourselves at everyone else's expense."

[STREAM "HOLD YOUR OWN" via ATWOOD MAGAZINE or SOUNDCLOUD]

After landing in Nashville for college, recording a solo EP, and completing a 1,600 mile walking tour with folk collective The Walking Guys, Kessenich began to search for bandmates to help realize the Arts Fishing Club sound he had always imagined. After two years of touring with countless iterations of band members, he finally found a home in Matthew Siffert (Bass), Peter Eddins (Keys/Sax), and Jimi Greene (Lead Guitar). The four began to plan their debut album Human.

For Arts Fishing Club, their guiding principle comes from the wisdom of generations past. "Both of my grandfathers are named Arthur," he explains. "They instilled in me the mentality that fishing is about going out every day with the intention for success. With every single line you cast, you're trying, you're going out there with purpose and intention. But, you're going to constantly come up empty-handed and at the end of the day, if you go home and nobody caught anything, that's not a wasted day, because fishing is about being out there, the adventure of it, and being in the boat with people that you love. The name of my band, which is also a play on words referencing music being the art in focus, reminds me that it's not about catching a big fish. It's not about having a hit song," he adds. "It's about going out and doing it with people that you love."

The album's songs, written over a four-year period, each explore a specific emotion or idea of who we are as humans. Their musical mission statement is three-pronged: to help people explore and confront difficult realizations about themselves and society, to articulate love (the good and the bad), and to make people dance. Recorded at Smoakstack Studios in Nashville with Collin Pastore (Lucy Dacus, Collin Elmore) and Zach Zinck at the helm, the first set of songs ranges from somber atmospheres to fun-loving summery anthems-all with a deeply-rooted set of questions at their core.