‘Father Shoes’ is a soothing blend of vintage soul with a modern touch. The indie-folk band Eternal Mourning hits that sweet spot of musical intricacy and passionate storytelling with their arrangement.
The track deviates from the typical verse-chorus structure to more of a poetic one, which works to the artist's favour, leaving longer pauses for the instruments to take over. While the music feels invigorating, the lyrics express the artist's deepest regrets of not being able to “fill his father's shoes.” The song starts with a country-esque style of a guitar hook and leads into a clip-clop rhythm- almost as if it’s mimicking a horse- and just as the singer gets to “Let’s roll again,” the once clip-clop rhythm turns into a sprint in slow motion, like a cinematic “letting go” moment.
The instruments work within their individual grooves, but seamlessly sway, shift, and band together, allowing each other to take over subtly while the vocalist sets the tone of the song. The vocal track fits perfectly with the low bass notes, with the other instruments layered carefully on top.
The track on the whole, is a compact, poignant, well-crafted, and emotionally healing journey. If you’re looking for music to escape with, this is a great recommendation.