Reviewed by Tony Cummings

A circular guitar riff, a chugging bass, and a cracking drum sound mean that even before Josh Edwards' keening vocal enters the affray on the opener "Daybreak" this reviewer is noting "these guys are good". And so they are. Heralding from North Carolina and with a sonically satisfying production from Jason Elgin (Collective Soul, Terrible Things), Runaway City produce a swaggeringly bombastic sound, crammed full of modern rock influences, but nimbly side stepping the pitfall of imitation. There are some great songs here, "Fade" (the album's first single) is a joyful celebration of God's redeeming and unconditional love ("All the world could fade away/You're the only one I'd miss if you were gone"). Almost as good are the power ballad "Longing" and "Try" which starts with acoustic guitar and then gradually builds into an anthemic tour-de-force with Tyler Ricketts' electric guitar and punchy BVs building it to a tasty climax. Today's scene is, of course, crowded with hundreds of Christian pop rock bands but there's always room for one more when they deliver the goods with such confident passion as these guys. Here's hoping Vertusent Music Group can get radioland to sit up and take notice.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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