Genre-defying heavy innovators BANKS ARCADE unleash the video for their explosive new single “YUCK!,” the final taste of their sophomore album SECOND PLACE SUPERSTAR, arriving worldwide on September 25. Pre-order here.
Unhinged, infectious, and impossible to ignore, “YUCK!” captures Banks Arcade at their most volatile. Built around crushing and stompy riffs, electronic grit and rapid-fire vocal delivery, the track erupts with an energy that feels equal parts metalcore anthem, club-fueled chaos and pure confrontation.
Lyrically, “YUCK!” dives headfirst into a world of synthetic desire, electric violence and complete loss of control. Images of tasting blood, dancing with demons and watching everything burn fuel its reckless atmosphere, while lines like “better be tough” and “dance with the devil” embody the song’s confrontational confidence.
There is something deliberately excessive about “YUCK!,” embracing temptation, danger, and destruction — rather than running from them.
“YUCK!” offers one last glimpse into the sheer range of Banks Arcade’s upcoming record. The new single adds another extreme to an album built around contrast, experimentation, and the refusal to stay inside traditional genre boundaries.
Since emerging from New Zealand and establishing themselves in Melbourne’s heavy scene, Banks Arcade have developed into one of the most distinctive and unpredictable acts in modern alternative music. Their 2022 debut album Future Lovers introduced a fearless collision of metalcore, alternative, hip-hop, and electronica, while the 2024 releases DEATH 2 and A Muse pushed individual sides of their sound even further.
That evolution has been matched by an increasingly impressive live presence. Banks Arcade have sold out headline shows across the Southern Hemisphere, appeared on major international stages including Download Festival, and shared stages with heavyweights including The Plot In You, Northlane, Thornhill, Highly Suspect, and In Hearts Wake.
SECOND PLACE SUPERSTAR brings those different identities together. Heavy without sacrificing melody, experimental without losing immediacy and constantly shifting between aggression and atmosphere, the record represents a band increasingly comfortable with being impossible to categorize.
With “YUCK!,” Banks Arcade deliver one final burst of electric violence before the full record arrives. Loud, provocative, and completely uninhibited, it is another reminder that unpredictability is not simply part of the Banks Arcade sound. It is the point.
