The Runs

Pretty Girls

Reach Around Records

Street: 02.01

The Runs = Ramones + The Queers

Pretty Girls needs more “Hey! Ho!”s and “Gabba gabba hey!”s. The lyrics are extruded from a Joey Ramone-‒like perspective, and the vocals of Scott Free have a similar cadence and tone to Joey. Overall, I really enjoyed this eight minutes of simple three-chord songs with the drums to match. What differentiates The Runs from a kick‒ass Ramones tribute band is their LA punk rock styled aggression, something that is clarified in their song “The Back Room” The guitars are faster than anything you’d find on Rocket to Russia, but not as fast as Black Flag’s Slip It In. Songs structures are classically short with straightforward bass work. These guys aren’t trying to break some musical barrier, they just want to provide you with some good tunes. Well done, gentlemen, well done. –Alex Cragun