self-released
Father Figure was a screamo band from Denton, Texas in the early 2010s. Since their dissolution in 2014, they’ve gained traction online alongside the rise of skramz and fourth/fifth wave emo. Two members of Father Figure, Miles DeBruin and Parker Lawson, are also members of Two Knights, another screamo band with much the same sound as Father Figure.
Despite its incredibly short run time, just shy of 10 minutes, the band makes use of every second. Raw emotion is the driving factor of the EP. Tempo and time signatures rapidly fluctuate during songs, with sharp and angular guitar licks interspersing bittersweet arpeggios. The first track “What the Hell is on Jonny’s Head?” starts the project off intensely, with the blunt line “I wish something would kill me because I’m too scared to do it myself”. It’s a sentence so elementary in language it’s almost comedic, but is executed with such grief that the verbosity of the lyrics doesn’t need to be Shakesperian. The guitars collapse into exhaustion during the outro, twinkling in their descent. The songs say only what they need to and nothing more. There's moments of misery to the point of rage and of solemn reflection. It's a gamut of anguish.
Highlights: “What the Hell is on Jonny’s Head?”, “This is My Attempt at an Apology”
Tracklist:
1. What the Hell is on Jonny’s Head?
2. Death is My Way Out (D.I.M.W.O.)
3. Mean Girls Ripoff
4. Maybe I’m Upset, No, Wait, Definitely
5. This is My Attempt at an Apology
