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Review Summary: The third N is silent Oddly-named Runnner is the brainchild of Los Angeles-based musician Noah Weinman. Always Repeating is the project’s first release on Run For Cover Records, and consists of ten re-recorded songs previously featured variously on a 2017 LP and a 2020 EP. While the style Runnner pursues here isn’t particularly original, it is well-executed and likely to be attractive to a wide range of listeners.
By far Runnner’s easiest sonic touchstone to reference on this album is Pinegrove, given both groups’ similar penchant for mellowly melodic emo/indie rock meets Americana/folk/country tunes. This closeness makes it highly likely that fans of Pinegrove will also enjoy Runnner’s music, even if it’s pretty certain that Runnner will remain the junior partner in that pairing. This isn’t to say that Always Repeating is a straight ripoff of Pinegrove though: Weinman’s sound lyricism feels quite distinct and helps makes the release come together as its own beast, and there are a number of songs here with interesting touches which set them apart (for example, the beat in the beginning of “Urgent Care” and the horns in “Captain Stupido”). Besides, this particular melding of genres seems to be growing into a bit of a trend (for another example, see Cold Moon’s record from earlier this year, even if in that case this style is taken in a somewhat different direction).
With its allotted runtime barely totaling thirty minutes, Always Repeating feels like a relaxed listen which matches the mild instrumentation. Lyrically, this is a fairly melancholy release (perhaps unsurprisingly given the emo elements) but Weinman remains restrained with his expressions of sadness and regret, rarely aiming to punch the listener straight in the gut. While the lyrical themes are occasionally juvenile, the cringe factor is adeptly avoided and the lines often feel impressively relatable while giving off an autumnal vibe. It’s a strategy which works well with the material, even if there are no truly classic songs here and Runnner still has room to grow into their own sound. The bottom line is that all of the tracks on Always Repeating are damned hard to dislike, and if the pristinely placid guitar solo in the middle of “Awash” doesn’t make you grin like a maniac, then there’s nothing else to say.
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Album Rating: 3.7
Quick writeup for an album which probably won't blow anyone away, but has been on steady rotation for me recently. I generally try to avoid mentioning other artists to much in my reviews, but in this case citing Pinegrove was inevitable, anyone who loves Pinegrove will probably enjoy this.
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Definitely sounds up my alley, cheers
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
nice! been seeing rfc promoting them a bunch, shall check
| | | Album Rating: 3.7
Thanks guys, hope you enjoy!
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Really glad this got a review, generally agree with your takes. The pinegrove similarities are uncanny, but it is done real well.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Also, this band has been on repeat on my Spotify for days and I never noticed the third N until I read your summary lol
| | | Album Rating: 3.7
Cheers Feather! Took me a while to notice the band name as well
"Wait, is that three Ns"?
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
the ns are actually all silent
thought this was okay, though it's very much in line with rfc's recent streak of exclusively signing relatively mid-tier indie rock artists, lol
| | | Album Rating: 3.7
Haha, to each their own!
I was hoping you might like this quite a bit, Jesper... Sorry to hear it didn't really strike your fancy. I don't think this is necessarily incredible but it's one of those albums that, even with the wide world of available music, has gotten into my head and caused me to revisit it frequently.
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will probably check since pretty much everything you review is solid
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
aw sorry to mildly disappoint sunny! perhaps it'll grow with time, you never know :]
| | | Album Rating: 3.7
Cheers Atari! Not sure how you'll feel about this but I think there's a decent chance you'll dig it.
@Jesper, true enough, you never know!
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Really good review. I'm conflicted on this, especially the vocal production: I wish they were much louder and punchier, but also I don't know that the vocals themselves are good enough for that (sometimes they definitely are). Regardless, this is bursting with potential -- first few songs I wasn't buying into, but it really caught me by the end, especially songs like Heliotrope. I get a lot of Bon Iver, and even Julien Baker from this, actually.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Aaa, I changed my mind, not conflicted at all, I love this.
| | | Album Rating: 3.7
Thanks @BlushfulHippocrene! Glad to see you're enjoying this. Can't say I caught any Bon Iver or Julien Baker influence in this, but the next time I give this a spin I'll keep that in mind and see if I notice any
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Pretty tentative connections, to be fair; something about the very simple songwriting reminds me of JB, and I hear (late) BI in the instrumental and production flourishes like towards the end of Heliotrope. Definitely getting more and more of that Pinegrove you guys are mentioning, though, especially in his vocal inflections.
Oh, and this dude produced and played on the first Skullcrusher EP, and it looks like she plays on or has some involvement with this. Very cool.
| | | Album Rating: 3.7
Ah ok, makes sense!
Haven't heard of Skullcrusher, but looks right up my alley. Will have to check her music.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Listening to their back-catalogue, I wish this was a compilation of Fan On and One of One instead. This new version of Trundle Bed is great, but I don't think the songs on the first half are nearly as good as on the second half.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
ur name on a grain of rice is so fucking good though
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
ooof this is simply wonderful
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