Runnner - A Welcome Kind of Weakness

On his second full-length record, Runnner embarks on a quest for clarity, and he finds it in droves. ‘A Welcome Kind of Weakness’ is crystalline in more ways than one. From its straight-up, pretenseless rock sound to the straightforward nature of the lyrics, it’s a record that revels in finding release and letting go. It’s a journey of finding catharsis through throwing yourself into a riff, or through getting everything off your chest in one fell swoop. It’s Runnner taking ownership of every aspect of this project, and showing a refreshing new side to his artistry in the process.

Shimmering into being on ‘A Welcome’, it’s immediately clear that this body of work is bigger than its predecessors. Lush instrumentals, euphoric percussion and some of his best vocals yet continue through ‘Achilles And’, a winning combination that never wanes throughout. ‘Spackle’ is an early highlight, a moody, mournful five-minute opus set to a soundscape of early 2000s rock guitars, clambering towards the song’s peak. It sets the precedent for a level of cinematicism to the album, dealing in vignettes. He grapples with relationships past, their fallouts, the weight of decisions in life and a multitude of conflicting, complex choices - the album tugs him between schools of thought and deposits him amidst it all, unwinding it in real time.

‘PVD’ perhaps shows that unravelling most notably in its sonics, crescendoing wildly into carnage by its conclusion. Runnner quickly picks himself out of the disarray, however, returning to a soaring, lucid form with ‘Coinstar’. It’s brimming with life in its traverse across those peaks and troughs, and that authentic beating heart at the centre of ‘A Welcome Kind of Weakness’ is its greatest strength.