Run, Forever – The Devil, And Death, and Me

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s Run, Forever took a big chance when combining twangy country and heartbreak emo.  Sure, Connor Oberst has done it for years, but I view him as a generally agreed upon exception.  As with any genre straddling group, there’s always a risk of aggravating both camps and satisfying no one.  Right from the start, Run, Forever hurdles over those pitfalls, landing a mean middle ground distinct from its origins.

For those with an ear for the deeply contemplative introspection of acts like Kevin Devine, Something Corporate, Say Anything, and most recently, Les Sages, Run, Forever’s most recent album, The Devil, And Death, And Me, is a shoe in.  Vocalist Anthony Heubel quivers as if confronting his demons pointblank after running headlong into their physical manifestation one late night on the subway (like a recovered suicidal still haunted by demons).  But rather than flee, Heubel stands tall, each word signifying a triumph.  The most tortured example rests with “There’s Only Today,” an uncharacteristically plodding piece speaking to the power of the present in clouding our thoughts of past and future.

But for the most part The Devil, And Death, And Me exists on the up-side of the country bench.  Opener “A Sequence Of Sad Events” rocks out with the lividness of early Against Me! with the guitar in “The Grand Illusion” following like a lantern-lit horse-drawn caravan across a dead moon’s sky.  In “Graves” Heubel speaks of rising up and “climbing out of this grave,” a passage following an admission of life consuming guilt (“I was never innocent to begin with, I was born with experience”).  Curiously, after that metaphoric cemetery comparison, the following messages sounds like that of an optimist.  In the title track, Heubel sings “I swear that I’ll make it out of this year, I might not know where I’ll be going, but it’s certainly better than here” to the album’s only true chorus of gang vocals – a technique empowering this rare message of hope.

Run, Forever might hail from the emo school of things, but that doesn’t mean the group has given up on life.  No, the four-piece chugs along in-spite of past hardship, always looking forward and never too far back. The Devil, And Death, And Me is a celebration of life’s internal struggles, acknowledging both failures and victories.  Heubel brings some strong vocals to the table, with his backing band’s flexibility for moving between country and alternative directions skillfully blending styles with distinct results.  If you’re like me, and you enjoy a healthy dose of emotional punk as per the aforementioned bands, then Run, Forever should be a wise choice.