Review Summary: Opener “Miles” calls to mind instantly The Appleseed Cast. Unfortunately, journeys through the 2004 album reveal none of The Appleseed Cast’s charm or the precious melodies of more atmospheric groups like Album Leaf.
Always the Runner consist of Garrett Morley and Eric Dills on guitar, Chad Favre on drums and vocals, and Virgil Stanford on bass guitar and keyboards. Hailing from Baton Rouge, LA, this largely instrumental rock group is one of the most accessible I’ve ever heard. However, it may be attributed to the fact that they fail to incorporate the dynamic soundscapes contemporaries Explosions in the Sky or Mogwai. That shouldn’t warrant an immediate death sentence, for it does stand out a bit in a genre stagnating with Saxon Shore clones. Unfortunately, the album never really delivers.
An August Golf does contain some stellar moments. “I Thought I’d Find You Here” has a very pretty bridge section that explodes in an atypical fashion. Raw distorted power chords chug beneath a simple repeated melody. “An August Golf (part 1)” is a piano led track that’s appeal lies in a different direction. Chimes create counterpoint to the piano and guitar based melodies, before piano leads over sensitive bass guitar. It continues to build in a circular fashion before slowly releasing and fading out. There is no typical climax; rather, tension is released before it peaks. “The Closest I Ever Came to Lightning” displays the group’s more eccentric moments. The song tumbles around in an awkward manner, however intentional it may be. The song rights itself toward the end discarding the jumbled intro and shifting to a more aesthetic chord progression played out on the piano beneath guitar harmonies. Unfortunately it fails to truly lead anywhere satisfying, and like “An August Golf (part 1)” it filters off in a melancholy fashion.
“Should A Bear Interrupt Your Picnic” begins with potential, featuring delay-soaked guitar melodies and atmospheric drumming. It continues in a promising manner but there is no real climax. It has its moments, but it lacks real direction; perhaps with better structuring and a bit more musical sensibility it could be more satisfying. “Something Important Happened in Falls Church” branches off in a drastically different direction. Drummer Chad Favre sings for the second time on the album. Accompanied by acoustic guitar his voice fails to really reconcile properly with the rest of
An August Golf. No crime of Favre’s really, but his voice is better suited for nu-metal then post-rock. The song attempts to build emotion lyrically before launching into more typical melodic textures, but neither task is accomplished in a truly satisfying manner.
The closer “An August Golf (part 2)” taps into the prettiness of its precursor but it’s nothing spectacular. Blame the production, or less kindly the group itself; however you want to look at it Always the Runner do not stand up to the competition on
An August Golf. It’s garnered several positive reviews online but I see only cheap post-rock, not as cliché as it is poorly executed. Unless they drastically improve on some future album I plan to forget the group.
