Run

'Health' (☤)

Why is it that whenever you hear about a band with only two members, the next sentence almost always talks about the volume at which that band plays? And it’s true; No Age, DFA1979, Lightning Bolt, to name a few; they’re all acts with two members intent on making more noise than bands with two or three times the bodies involved. Perhaps we could compare this trend to the way a boy racer might want to compensate for his lack of bounty in the trouser department by sticking a muffler on his shit car so he sounds like he’s driving a Porsche instead of a Nissan Micra.

Run, Walk! are also just two people: Matt Pickering-Copley (Bass and a fuck ton of effects pedals/Vocals) and Tom Clements (Drums) and yes, they play loud. I can’t comment on the size of their instruments but I could use the volume of their debut album as some sort of indicator.

'Health' (stylised as this: ☤ for whatever reason) is sadly, Run, WALK!’s first and last, with the band hanging up their boots in just over a week. Unfortunately for most of you reading this (me included), the chance to see them live has already passed. And what a shame that is, because their opening and closing statement is exactly the kind of record that makes you want to get up and go see a band do their thing.

'Health' is a collection of noisy, fast-moving punk rock songs showcasing a band with the utmost faith in their abilities. The jagged stabs of effect-drowned bass guitar and frantic drumming come together to make songs that are equal amounts catchy and vicious; ‘Black Canvas’ is a prime example of this with an absolutely massive riff and crash cymbals galore, but then again just about every track is full of that. Pickering-Copley’s vocal work is also fantastic with a throat-tearing howl that kicks all the songs up a notch to a much more suitable noise level that’s hopefully pissing my neighbours off as I write this.

There’s no bullshit and no letting up, with each scorching assault blasting into the next with barely a pause for breath. Run,WALK! are a band who make music that could initiate mass riots in just about any situation. That this is the last thing they’ll ever put out is utterly heartbreaking as there’s no time left to see them play these songs in the setting they were most suited to. As a closing statement this was a way to go out with a bang but it feels so much like it should have been a beginning.  

#Albums #Experimental #Holy Roar #Noise rock #Run #Aidan Rivett