Runner Runner
Runner Runner
Capitol/MRV/CE Music
If there's something immediate to be said about the Huntington Beach-based Runner Runner's full-length debut, it's “well-sculpted”–that's not a reference to their perfectly posed promo photos, but they don't hurt. But it's a key to Runner Runner's sound in general, something that's already so of its moment that one can sense how quickly it'll sound retro–the quintet aim for radio/YouTube-friendly instantly catchy pop/rock with electronics filling in the corners, Autotune softening the edges along the way and big gang shouts and beats at plenty of points on top of it all.
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(Jack-of-all-trades producer Dave Darling gets due credit here; he obviously has an ear to bringing out the band's best strengths, from Ryan Ogren's easygoing everyman/daydreamer vocals to the stop-on-a-dime pauses in the arrangements.)
