Saturday, June 1, 2013

Roomrunner

You know how people say that a band should be on a label? I'm about to do that, but for the opposite reason most folks do. See Roomrunner belong on Discord records because they would kick that hoary, staid old label in the keister to move them forward. See, they have a formula that's close to Discord's wheelhouse, but better. Yes, I said better. Bear with me, here.
I found their record "Ideal Cities"  when I was in Baltimore to see the mighty Baroness. I've been listening to it over the past week, and wow! I wish I'd become hip to them earlier. You start with an angular dub and skronk base, like Discord has been ripping off from Jawbox for years ( it's ok, we're all friends, here. You can admit it. Fugazi sounded ground breaking, until you heard Jawbox, right? ) But, then, Roomrunner add a layer of bubblegum pop melodies not seen since the late 1980's  "Alternative Nation" era. Not the cheap harmonies of pop punk. We're talking almost up to the Pixies type like stick to yer ribs/Why didn't I think of that? type songcraft. Then, they coat the whole shebang in a think gooey layer of sludgey grunge noise- all words chosen carefully. I think I'm in love...
But I'm cheating, here. I happen to know that they are, in fact, being distributed by Discord . I just wanted to set this up so you'll understand that I think they belong there precisely because they bring the quality level up to the standard you've come to expect from 1990's era Discord, without sounding imitative of any single Discord band. Hell, they actually sound new, different, and dare I say it? like the next big thing.
So, if you enjoy very loud, discordant pop-damaged post-hardcore punk rock, you're welcome...

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