The Arcs

The Arc of The Arcs

The pivots — what forced The Arcs to reinvent.

1. 01

   The Easy Eye Boxing Club

   Auerbach brought together Leon Michels, Richard Swift, Homer Steinweiss, and Nick Movshon to escape the massive, glossy expectations of the Black Keys' Turn Blue era. They holed up at Easy Eye Sound with the Mariachi Flor de Toloache to cut Yours, Dreamily, using vintage Tascam boards and gritty analog saturation. The music became a psych-soul collage that prioritizes groove and atmosphere over radio-friendly hooks. You hear it in the loose percussion and the hazy, layered vocals that sound like they were recorded through a busted transistor radio.

2. 02

   The Swift Eulogy

   Following the 2018 death of multi-instrumentalist Richard Swift, the band entered a period of silent mourning while holding onto a massive cache of unfinished analog tapes. Michels and Auerbach eventually returned to these 24-track recordings, meticulously overdubbing parts to preserve Swift’s unique, off-kilter arrangements. The resulting 2023 release, Electrophonic Chronic, shifted the band from gritty garage-soul into a more reflective, synth-heavy space. It sounds like a ghost in the machine, where the interplay between the rhythm section and Swift’s keys feels both present and tragically distant.

Influences

• The 5-Royales — Auerbach has frequently cited Lowman Pauling’s stinging, distorted guitar style as the blueprint for his own blues-rock attack. You hear those sharp, jagged leads cut through the soul-heavy arrangements on tracks like 'Outta My Mind.' It’s the bridge between 1950s R&B and modern psych-rock.
• Lee "Scratch" Perry — The band's heavy use of tape delay and dub-style studio experimentation was directly modeled after Perry’s work at Black Ark. The Arcs even collaborated with him on a 10-inch for Record Store Day. The way they bury the vocals and emphasize the snare echo is pure Scratch Perry worship.
• The Impressions — The high-tenor harmonies and lush, mid-tempo soul arrangements throughout their catalog are a direct nod to Curtis Mayfield’s early songwriting. You hear this influence most clearly in the vocal stacking and the way the bass interacts with the guitar melody on 'Stay in My Corner.' It's a heavy lean into the Chicago soul tradition.
• The Seeds — The fuzzed-out organ tones and repetitive, hypnotic garage riffs reflect the influence of Sky Saxon’s 1960s outfit. Richard Swift’s Farfisa work often mimics that cheap, thin, psychedelic keyboard sound that defines classic garage punk. It keeps the band from sounding too clean or over-produced.
• Rodriguez — The Arcs toured with the Cold Fact singer and have spoken about the influence of his gritty, street-level folk-soul production. You can hear that influence in the cinematic, narrative-driven lyrics and the dusty, low-fi acoustic textures that pop up between the heavier electric jams. It’s about that specific Detroit-meets-Motown aesthetic.