Review Summary: Is it ground breaking? No. Is it life changing? Nah. Is it genre defining? Not at all. Is it your average pop/punk CD? Yup.
Run Kid Run is a Christian pop-punk band from Illinois, that is made up of:
David Josiah Curtis - Vocals, guitar
Neil Endicott - Guitar, backing vocals
Paul Stewart - Bass
Matt Jackson - Drums
As soon as the words "Christian pop punk" come into my mind I instantly think "Terrible", so imagine my annoyance when I blindly picked this up from a $1 bin, but after a few spins of this CD, I'm warming up to it, and I think it needs an actual review.
The CD opens very strong, with "We've Only Just Begun". This is your standard "Hey guys! We can do this together!" type song that you'd expect the cast of High School Musical to preform at the end of the movie, but something about this song pushes it above that. It could be David's strong vocals, or just the overall excited feel about this song, but it is above average.
David's vocal style heard on this track really lets you know what to expect from the rest of the CD. His warm and youthful vocal tone complements the music very well, and although it occasionally sounds forced, you will enjoy listening to him sing through out the album.
We move from that strong track to a pretty weak one, called "Move On". Right off the bat, the instrumentation sounds tired and forced. The vocals try to push this song, but it's hard to push a poor song into greatness if the rest of the band is too tired to move. Throughout the entire song the guitarists play the same 2 or 3 riffs, with the lead guitar attempting to play something a bit more interesting, only to fail miserably.
Neil Endicott is by no means bad at guitar, it's just that he's, well, in a Christian pop/punk band, and any attempts he may make to rise above just fall flat. Most of the guitar parts on this CD rely on basic chord strumming, with the occasional lead part trying hard not to get lost in the mix. The bass guitar is rarely heard, except for the verse of "The Call Out", one of this CD's stronger tracks. The bass is solid, but not exceptional, pretty much what you'd expect.
After "Move On" there is "Wake Up, Get Up" that sounds eerily similar to "We've Only Just Begun". There's really not much to say about this track, except that it has filler written all over it.
The next notable track is "The Modern March", which is one of the more openly Christian songs on the record, with lyrics like:
"I long to see you again,
Holy Spirit, please come back in."
For non-Christians, lyrics like that can really turn you off to the music. But if you can get through that song, you'll be rewarded with one of (If not the best) the best songs on the CD..."The Call Out". This song, right from the intro, has an excited, driving feel to it, that feels real. The super catchy chorus is great, and will keep you coming back to this song. Unfortunately, that's just about all the good the CD has to offer. The next 4 songs are your standard pop/rock. The last song is a worship type song...But it doesn't come off as worshipful (Is that a word?), it honestly just sounds awkward.
Right about here, I feel like I should say something about the drumming on this CD...But honestly, there isn't anything to say. It's not bad, it's not great. It's average. It never stands out, and it never makes you cringe and say "Well, that sucked.". The drummer is really only there to keep the song moving, and he gets the job done.
Is this a classic CD? No, but after a few listens, you'll be okay with hearing it in your car every now and then. The CD has a very cheery and hopeful sound to it, so if you hate optimism, you'll hate this CD. If you like pop-rock, you'll enjoy it. I'd recommend this CD to anyone who likes even slightly catchy music, and people who just like fun music.
Recommended Tracks:
We've Only Just Begun
The Call Out
