“Witty, idiosyncratic indie rock that is to a band like Maroon 5 what a film like Sideways is to one like Miss Congeniality 2… These are songs to not just listen to, but explore, a series of musical masks donned by an artist with keen insight and an outsized sense of playfulness.” —The Daily Vault
Wampus met with singer-songwriter Mark Doyon to talk about the new Arms of Kismet album, Unexpected Guests.
Listeners encounter nice old ladies, bad roommates, migratory birds, doomed writers, lurking fascists, and a host of other colorful characters. Do they all know each other?
They do, as we all do. You might not personally know your next-door neighbor or the person who rings up your groceries, but you do know them in a way. They’re human and recognizable. We think we don’t speak the same language as other people anymore, but we can if we choose to.
The characters are all fighting uncertainty or reaching for meaning.
Elliptically. And as time passes, they lose ground if they don’t keep evolving. They get a little time to grow, but they don’t get forever.
So, who are these “unexpected guests”?
Health, relationships, work, everything. As John Lennon sang, “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.” You create a life, or think you’re doing that, but life is actually creating you. It has better ideas than you do (laughs).
What was on your mind most while you were making the album?
Freedom of expression (“No Dancing,” “Video of the Crash”), spiritual curiosity (“Wormhole,” “Flight of the Bar-tailed Godwit”), mortality (“Up Soon,” “Go-Go Years”), and the mystery glue that holds it all together.
The record sounds modern but is still rooted in your Kinks-ian style.
You can’t escape yourself and shouldn’t try. But I’m interested in what the kids are doing. They absorb the history and distill it into something new. I think of Nate Amos, MJ Lenderman, Geese… Don’t worry, all you classic-rock Chicken Littles, rock ‘n’ roll today might be the headiest we’ve heard. Yesterday’s gone and it’s tomorrow again.
—
Arms of Kismet summons a warm, analog vibe that sounds as natural in a coffeehouse as it does on a car radio. Guitars and dancebeats coat sugary melodies and fractured lyrics, blending genres in offbeat and revelatory ways. Brooding and poppy, funny and foreboding, it’s toe-tapping, tragicomic rock ’n’ roll.
Unexpected Guests drops on November 20, 2026. Guests include Andy Casile, Audrey Karrasch, Kowtow Popof, Jimmy Maddox, and Derek Keijner.
Doyon also records as Waterslide.
Also available from Wampus: Eponymous, Cutting Room Rug, Play for Affection, The Helium Age, and Ballast and Bromides.
New single “Wormhole” is out now.
Listen at Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music | Amazon