After more than 15 years away, The Arrivals return with Payload… a record that feels less like a comeback and more like a necessity, raw and immediate in all the right ways. Tracked at Electrical Audio, the album captures a band leaning into instinct over polish, channeling years of distance into something urgent and unmistakably their own. That urgency is front and center on “January 7th,” a track that pairs stripped-down songwriting with protest footage from real-world resistance movements, aiming frustration where it belongs instead of turning it inward. I caught up with Little Dave Merriman to talk about what sparked the return, how Payload came together in a whirlwind and why, even now, The Arrivals still sound exactly like themselves… just with more miles behind them and more to say.
After a 15-year gap between records, what finally made this the right time for The Arrivals to come back with Payload?
Opportunity and determination. We are scattered across the country – Chicago, LA and Minneapolis. The idea to make a new record has been brewing for a little while now, over the last few years as we started playing more shows. Knowing we had enough songs, and we aren’t getting any younger, we seized an opportunity to bang the songs out in whirlwind few days.
When you first got back in a room together after so long apart, what felt instantly familiar… and what felt different? Did the long break change how you approached being a band… either creatively or personally?
We’ve been getting together every year or so for a while now and it went down like it always does; it’s like the last practice was yesterday. It’s the glue that binds us. We have all grown and changed through the years, I think I’ve changed a lot, but when we start playing together it’s like the first time and the last time. And, like time, records are a flat circle.
How would you describe Payload compared to Volatile Molotov and your earlier records?
First, I’d say it’s the newest… I’ve thought about this a bit lately and it feels impossible. We made the record in a different way than the others; we planned the other ones for at least a few months ahead of time, had new songs in our set prior to recording that we’d play out on tour and hone, and we sussed out a lot of details before pressing the record. Payload was like taming a bronco, by comparison. Otherwise, I play a Strat now… that’s new – I used a Les Paul prior. There are a few other colors in the palette that we haven’t used yet, some we haven’t used in a while, but the end result seems so naturally “like us” to me that I have a hard time differentiating or comparing it beyond the details of how it was made. If you liked our other albums, you’re gonna dig this one too!
The band has always avoided repeating itself. What new “flavors” did you consciously want to explore this time?
I can’t say that we ever consciously try to add different flavors as much as we welcome new ideas and inspiration when it comes. And 15, or whatever, years of ideas and inspiration that has filtered through us since the last one. I’ll say there are some rhythms and sounds we haven’t pulled out prior, and it’s hard to describe better than that. Pick one Arrivals song and ask each of us what we think the song sounds like and you’ll probably get four different answers.
Was there a song on the record that felt like a turning point during the writing process? Were there specific moments in the studio where you felt the band evolving in real time?
It felt like the opposite; like our evolution over the last 15-16 years made it possible to make an almost-complete album with a day of practicing and three days of tracking. There were on-the-fly decisions where we had to trust our instincts, and each others’. Songs evolved through the process: Isaac wrote the lyrics for Shake in the studio; I re-wrote the lyrics and vocal melody for Motivation completely after the initial recording. Maybe our evolution was trusting our instincts and being able to deftly act on them?
Has your definition of “working-class punk” changed as you’ve gotten older?
Not at all. I don’t trust punk that isn’t working-class.
Looking back, what surprises you most about how The Arrivals’ earlier records have continued finding new audiences?
I’m surprised to learn our earlier records continue finding new audiences!
What do you hope longtime fans, and people discovering the band for the first time take away from Payload?
A smile. An earworm. A new mixtape favorite. An urgency to shake off complacency and face the uncomfortable truths necessary to identify the machinations that hypnotize us, while they empty our pockets and turn us against our neighbors, as the only enemy we should all be fighting – for our souls, our bodies, our share, the ground we walk on, the water we drink and air we breathe.
If you’re a billionaire, just the earworm.
Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/