Review: Runaway Brother - Mother
By Chris Reinbold, Staff Writer
[Tiny Engines; 2015]
Rating: 4/5
Key Tracks: “Harvest,” “False Halo,” “Catch”
Runaway Brother is a four-piece emo/indie-punk outfit from Cleveland. After building a following by grinding it out on the road, including tour dates with Tiny Moving Parts and releasing multiple splits, Runaway Brother makes a splash with its newest LP, Mother. Mother is more than a typical punk or emo release, drawing influence from genres across the board and concentrating it into a collection of 11 incredibly coherent tracks, beginning with “Harvest.” From the start, the listener can draw lyrical comparisons to the likes of earlier Say Anything sans intense teenage angst and the previously mentioned Tiny Moving Parts, as the words begin, “I grew fruit for you / I was inspired by the things you do / But so bruised and battered, too.”
Sonically, “Harvest” at the start parallels the mood and tone of Brand New’s Deja Entendu opener, “Tatou,” with its quiet and subdued guitar textures. From this calm intro, though, the band shifts into a full-ensemble sound. This transition is slightly built up to, and bursts in a similar manner to Between the Buried and Me’s “Foam Born (a) The Backtrack,” the towering opener of monumental album Colors.
After the transition, Runaway Brother's vocalist displays an astoundingly beautiful falsetto head voice, with equally gorgeous harmonies provided by the twinkling guitar and buttery smooth bass. The angular shift at the tail end of the song takes on the life of a more upbeat cut from Florida emo-rockers You Blew It!
“False Halo” steers in a different direction from the primarily emo sound of “Harvest.” The song begins with an arpeggiated guitar pattern backed by dancing drums. The guitar devolves from this arpeggiation into a more textural and atmospheric pattern. Throughout the song, the vocals carry the entirety of the melody, even with instrumentally-based riff breaks. The riffs are driving and propel the song forward, but do not exist to catch the listener’s ear and become a centerpiece. The drums and bass intertwine and lock down to create a masterful dance-beat, even with the drums’ ever so slightly off-kilter meter, keeping the listener from truly settling into the song.
“Catch” diverts away from avenues explored previously within the album and blooms into an indie-rock banger reminiscent of UK’s The Wombats. This track is the most straight-ahead of the collection, volleying between a more down-tempo emo chorus and jaunty, bass-driven indie rock verses. When the guitar solo hits, it rips with noise and energy, sitting back into a building, tight rhythm section that never quite resolves. The song returns to the down, emo feel. If Runaway Brother does anything well, it takes its audience on a rollercoaster ride filled with musical twists and turns. The four-piece crams so much into each individual track that it is nearly overwhelming but never boring. The vocals are at the very front of the mix, drawing attention and focus to the lyrical content of each track. The band puts its masterful songwriting abilities on full display throughout the record, and lets its amazing transitions speak for themselves. Mother is one of the most entertaining and captivating listens this year and will propel Runaway Brother to new heights.
