Fell asleep watching My Name is Earl reruns, took allergy pills at 5:30am and expected to be fully okay three hours later. I napped on and off while writing about Channing Tatum being the “sexiest man alive,” People Magazine’s words, not mine…although I agree. When I was done having mental relations with Channing, I turned on Run, Forever’s new record, Settling. To put it best, it’s a rock based record that leans to the alternative indie side that’s riddled with enough self-doubt to make you think it was either written by an overly emotional youth, or an underwhelmed adult.
No matter who the real voice is of Settling is, one thing’s for sure, it’s a sad person who let their downward smile come through in songs like “Good Enough” that makes claims like “I only feel worse” and the yearning to be a part of something in “Maritime States.”
When I read the name of the album, a lot of things came to mind because I have this thing against people settling, especially in relationships. I know one too many friends who seem to have done that out of fear of being lonesome. But when it came to Run, Forever, they’re “Settling” was a song of accepting the life at hand because “it’s easy to get comfortable.” That’s a top song on the record, but it’s the acoustic “Braddock Beach” and the childhood backstory of “Postcards” that take the cake with this album. Once I passed those two songs the album started to fade as much as an old postcard in a scrapbook.
Run, Forever is a trio from Pittsburgh who came together to bring about a record like Settling that takes on the persona of a person who is upset with life, but dealing with it because that’s all they can do with the help of an alt-indie rock backdrop. Fans of The Holy Mess and Maker will be wise to take notice. Settling is out digitally and on vinyl (fancy) on November 20th on Tiny Engines records.
Leave a Reply