Title: Chip Off The Old Block
Artist: Jack Dunn
From: TBA (2026)
Release Date: October 31, 2025
Format: CD Single, 7” Single, Digital Download, Weekly Airplay, Worldwide Streaming, Cassette
Recorded: Head South Recording Studios, Brighton, UK
Genre(s): Alternative Rock
Length: 5:04
Label: Head South Records
Written: April 2025
Writer(s): Jack Dunn
Producer(s): Jack Dunn, Quentin McEwen

Chip Off The Old Block is the fourth solo single by English singer-songwriter Jack Dunn, fifth overall including his recent collaboration with Merecedes. The release of the track see’s the first solo release of the year from the artist on the back of a highly productive 2024. The lack of official releases from Dunn in 2025 are primarily down to the fact that he has been hard at work on crafting his debut album which is expected to see a release in early 2026. Following a period of relative silence after several releases in 2024, “Chip Off The Old Block” introduces Dunn’s first solo offering of 2025.
The single was recorded at Head South Recording Studios in Brighton, England where the entirety of his upcoming debut album has been recorded since signing to the record label Head South Records back in late 2023. The track is described as a slow paced alternative rock track, running for five minutes and four seconds, blending introspective songwriting with a guitar-driven sound. The song explores themes of family dynamics, self-reflection and theme’s of coming of age, as Dunn lyrically confronts the similarities between himself and his late father.

The lyrics switch between moments of confrontation and tenderness, portraying the realisation that the traits that were prominent in his father have become a part of him. While Dunn’s delivery balances raw emotion and restraint, mirroring the songs underlying tension between pride, regret and ultimately understanding.
Lines such as “I swore I’d never be you, but now I see there’s worse ways to walk that line” and “I’m softer than I ever thought I’d be, I think this world’s finally got a hold of me.” capture the generational struggle between father and son. While the refrain, “I’m a chip off the old block.” becomes an admission of the things that he’s unable to change within himself as well as a tribute, signalling maturity and reconciliation. Musically, the track features dynamic shifts in tone between quiet and introspective with reflective verses and a build to its soaring chorus, underscored by melodic guitar and a driving rhythm section, combined beautifully with tender and emotive vocal harmonies in places.

The single was written in April 2025 as part of the recording sessions for his upcoming debut album, recorded at Head South Recording Studios in Brighton, United Kingdom and produced by Jack Dunn and Quentin McEwen. Set for release on October 31, 2025 through Head South Records and available in multiple formats, including CD Single, 7” Single, Digital Download, Worldwide Streaming, Weekly Airplay and Cassette.

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Song Description;

The track opens in a stripped-back, confessional manner with the sound of a soft electric guitar line that rings out beneath the sound of faint reverb and studio noise, immediately setting a tone of reflection from the outset. Giving the track an immediate feeling of heavy weight in the air from the very first notes, Jack’s vocals enter, sung in a low, controlled tone which pulls the listener right into the story, “You’d slam the door and I’d bite my tongue/Two stubborn heads, same old song.” which immediately sets up the songs main theme and direction, a relationship between two very different generations, defined by silence more than an outpouring of affection.
The songs opening section feels raw and vulnerable, Jack’s voice taking centre stage with the gentle strum of a rhythm guitar providing a the heartbeat of the opening verse of the track. As the verse develops we’re introduced to more subtle layers and additions, soft percussion and beautifully delivered backing vocals from rhythm guitarist Cherrie Williams, whose harmonies add a tenderness to the track as they combine with Dunn’s lead vocal. The production feels simplistic and patient, in no rush to become overlayered and overwhelm the tracks tenderness.

When the chorus arrives, the tone of the track increases slightly in intensity. Lead guitar, rhythm guitar and bass guitar all come into play alongside the drums, creating a driving energy for its chorus as Jack raises his voice slightly to match the instrumental increase, his tone allows the words to carry most of the power but inflection in his vocal delivery add a weight of depth to the chorus, “I’m a chip off the old block, can’t deny it now/All of your faults, all of your doubts, they’re all in me somehow.”. With no flashy hook or catchy wordplay, it’s a perfect continuation of the story that was being told in the opening verse and bridge, drenched in brutal honesty and tied together melodically. The phrasing of the songs chorus drive home the tracks central theme of no matter how much we try to outrun where we come from, those roots are buried deep within us.

As the second verse arrives, the arrangement expands slightly. The bass from Jamie Whittaker becomes slightly more prominent and in combination with the drumming from Oliver Kershaw evidently becomes the tracks driving heartbeat in the second half of the track. Dunn’s lyrics take on a tone of acceptance rather than resentment as the second verse unfolds, “You taught me pride, you taught me shame/Real men fight but don’t complain/And I’d watch you sit in silence, nursing your pain.” shows a quiet resolve that feels very true to those that grew up in a “stiff upper lip” type of environment where you see beauty in resolve and perseverance. The imagery delivered feels perfectly tied into the material that we’ve heard from Dunn previously, familiar and cutting at the same time, drenched in a brutal honest and realism, balancing nostalgia with the sting of realisation.
The bridge brings the song’s emotional peak, Dunn’s voice begins to crack slightly as he sings, “I can’t unhear the way you’d laugh/When I’d get myself into those daft situations every day/I’d give the world just to take me back/Just to call you ‘old man’ again.” and it’s here where the track truly blossoms, turning it from a vivid polaroid of a place and time into a eulogy and anthem of nostalgia. The full band joining in once more with layered guitars and lush harmonies. The restraint of the earlier verses make this section all the more powerful, like everything you’ve heard up to that point has been building to the emotional pay-off of the reveal that this is Dunn honouring someone that is no longer here with him. In this section of the track, you can hear the emotion bleeding through with every word, turning the track from a performance into a raw tribute.

From this point onwards, the song rolls into a soaring final chorus, where Dunn’s voice takes on a powerfully cathartic, almost anthemic tone. Mustering every last ounce of passion in his lungs to sing out lyrics that shift from resistance to reconciliation, “I’m a chip off the old block, and it cuts both ways/I’ve got your temper, your heart and all of your stubborn grace.”, it’s reflective to the point of almost redemptive, a moment of clarity after years of misunderstanding.
The outro slows the tempo back down, returning to the gentle tones that opened the track. A final repetition, “I know that I’m just you, but I wear it proud/A chip off the old block, but I understand it much more now.” which fades into the quiet hum of guitars and studio noise, leaving the listener in relatively quiet contemplation.

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Chip Off The Old Block

“You’d slam the door and I’d bite my tongue
Two stubborn heads, same old song
I’d mutter something snarky underneath my breath
Roll our eyes, cause we’d know what’s next
I’d fuck off out and come home late
See your boots by the back door, caked in mud and lost time
I swore I’d never be you
But now I see there’s worse ways to walk that line

And I catch your face in every mirror
I see your ghost locked in my gaze
And the picture’s only ever getting clearer

I’m a chip off the old block, can’t deny it now
All of your faults, all of your doubts, they’re all in me somehow
Didn’t see it coming, thought I’d break the chain
But I can’t deny, I catch myself sounding just like you every single day
I’m softer than I ever thought I’d be
I think this worlds finally got a hold of me
You never let that side of you be seen
D'you know what I mean?

You taught me pride, you taught me shame
Real men fight but don’t complain
And I’d watch you sit in silence, nursing your pain
That’s when I learnt that true love never ever speaks it’s name
Now I’m sat in that same old chair
And I still smell your smoke lingering in the air

And I can’t unhear the way you’d laugh
When I’d get myself into those daft situations every day
I’d give the world just to take me back
Just to call you “old man” again

I’m a chip off the old block, and it cuts both ways
I’ve got your temper, your heart and all of your stubborn grace
I never meant to follow, but I walk your road
With your voice always inside my head when those nights get cold
Yeah, I’m just you, I think that’s in my soul forever
Built in your shape, trying to do things better
I’m still you, it’s all of you I’ve got
I’m still you
A chip off the old block

All the things we left unsaid
Hang heavy over me like your coat on the stairwell
I wonder if you’d be proud or shake your head
I’m still your boy, can’t you tell?

I’m a chip off the old block, through and through
I carry your lessons, your silence too
I didn’t ever see it then, but now I see it clear
Every fight, every pint, every year
Yeah, I’m a littler softer than you ever let show
But I think it’s a good thing to let those that love you know
I know that I’m just you, but I wear it proud
A chip off the old block
But I understand it much more now”

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Credits & Personnel;

CREDITS

Produced by Jack Dunn, Quentin McEwen
Engineered by Lewis Richardson
Mixed by Jack Dunn, Quentin McEwen, Charlie Willis
Recorded at Head South Recording Studios, Brighton, England, UK

PERSONNEL

Jack Dunn – vocals, lead guitar, lyrics, composition, production, mixing
Cherrie Williams – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Jamie Whittaker – bass guitar
Oliver Kershaw – drums, percussion
Lewis Richardson – engineering
Charlie Willis – mixing
Quentin McEwen – production, mixing, production management