Regular readers to Covert Music Club will be well aware of the fondness that I have for Dublin math-rock band Arcwords. The four-piece consisting of Stefan Farrell (guitar and vocals), Derek Ellard (guitar), Conor Lyons (bass), and Anton Shovlin (drums) met while in college in BIMM in Dublin and have since been building a solid reputation on the Dublin music scene for their exhilarating live shows.

Last week, the talented four-piece released the follow-up track to their debut single Toughen Up, entitled Father Figure.

Father Figure is another fantastic addition to the discography of the band and helps to show a more thoughtful and emotional side to the band. The track deals with the process of dealing with the aftermath of losing a loved one and looking back on all the things that made them special.

The instrumentation across the song is testament to the ability of the band to craft intricate and emotional soundscapes through interesting guitar and bass riffs, and the melodic instrumentation helps to layer the sounds to reflect the emotional core at the centre of the song. The catchy instrumentation almost seems in contrast to the accompanying music video for the song where we are shown a son grieving for his lost father, however towards the end of the song as it slowly builds in intensity and texture it feels like the perfect representation of the emotional conflict around a difficult topic like this. It’s a marvellous mechanism for presenting emotional that is used perfectly by the band here.

The message at the course of the song is, however, addressed throughout the lyrics of the song. The protagonist of the song seems to be recounting the reassuring words that his father left him with before he sadly passed away and helps to remind the listener of how the loved ones who leave us would want us to be strong in their passing. It’s a powerful message that would resonate with a lot of people listening to the song.

“He wakens up, he shakes it off,

and starts the day

He wakens up and starts the day,

He wakens up, he shakes it off,

and says ok…”

Arcwords are only getting going. Buckle up.

MK