Review Summary: Just being uncomfortably human.
I don't like how
Runners In The Nerved World sounds. I don't like the generic guitar and bass tones, I don't like the voice of singer Steve Ciolek, and I don't even really care for the band's overall musical aesthetic. There's no sharp point or edge to drive the music. It's dull, it's dry, and if you aren't listening carefully, you might forget there's even music playing. And despite how unappetizing I find The Sidekicks' sound on this album, I've listened through it at least half a dozen times. I don't like how it
sounds, but I like how it makes me
feel.
Opener "Hell Is Warm" presents what is likely the best argument for an emotional appeal. The repeated "How do we, how do we not get lost?" is a concept that every young 20-something experiences while finding themselves stretched between the roots of adolescence and the brave new world of adulthood. Perhaps it's not how The Sidekicks intended it, but it's how I perceive the line every time I hear it. In fact, the whole album is filled with moments like that. In "Satellite Words and Me," Ciolek sings of being too nervous to sit straight because he's too afraid of the impending debris of rejection and heartbreak. I get how pathetic that sounds when it's written out, but the song masterfully cycles through the emotions of it with every melody and word presented to the listener.
The melodies, the vocal melodies in particular, are annoyingly catchy in Runners In The Nerved World[/i]. It's a big part of how every feeling in every song is conveyed. "Jesus Christ Supermalls" and "Deer" are entirely melody driven, but they turn out to be memorable songs for that reason. Other songs, specifically "Everything In Twos" and "Blissfield, MI," speed up the tempo for a stronger contrast with the rest of the album. An ironic moment in "The Kid Who Broke His Wrist" mentions writing a song called "Summer Brings You Closer to Satan," a song the appears later on the album (and is a personal favorite of mine). These sorts of details encompass the album and give it a personality that can easily be ignored when hearing the overall musical aesthetic.
I was originally drawn to this album when I read a comparison to The Menzingers'
On the Impossible Past, an album that I still listen to religiously to this day. I get the similarities and why the comparison is drawn, but it also misses a few points. The Sidekicks, on
Runners In The Nerved World, is less upbeat and more drawn out. There's more awkward self-pity, where The Menzingers present angst. But both albums have central themes of being uncomfortable with the social world around them. As "Jesus Christ Supermalls" goes, "All that humans are doing is just being uncomfortably human."
