If Breaklights had come into my life in the middle aughts, they would probably have gone down as one of the best bands of my childhood. Their music lands on the poppier side of pop-punk; leaning more on polish and high-flying hooks than any kind of manufactured grizzle, but it’s paid off in spades as evident on their new record, Don’t Try So Hard. The album is packed with hooks that will leave you singing, sweating, and ringing in the new year feeling like you’re ready to take on the world.
Today, I’m excited to share the music video for a new song called “Runaways.” The video itself is strictly performance, but it’s the power behind the soaring chorus of “Light years away, from feeling halfway ok/It’s a long road back for a runaway, for a runaway/Fuck yesterday, I’ve got a lot left to say” that feels like it could have been ripped straight from the playbook of Crimson-era Alkaline Trio.
Aside: I don’t know if I continue to lose “cred” whenever I mention that the majority of my childhood was spent adoringly in love with mall-punk. When we streamed the new Trash Boy record last year, I cited the king of mall-punk when I talked about Bam Margera’s too-long-lived Mtv2 reality show Viva La Bam! and it looks like I’ll be doing more of the same here. “Runaways” is the kind of song that begs for the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater stamp of approval.
When asked about the track, vocalist/bassist Charlie Whittle said: “We definitely etched a giant check mark onto the band bucket list last year with our trek out to the legendary Blasting Room to record “Don’t Try So Hard”. Chris Beeble (engineer: Alkaline Trio, Rise Against, Descendents, etc) was just THE best dude and really helped us create the sounds we were hearing in our heads. Amazing time.”
He continues with “‘Runaways’ is the first single from the record and probably my favorite Breaklights song to date. It’s your standard break-up tune but told from the perspective of someone who knows exactly what to do to get through it. So more of an anthem for coming out unscathed than a sappy downer. We shot the video at our practice space in three hours with the talented Jeff Antons and we really love how it came out!”
Don’t Try So Hard is out January 19th on Wiretap Records. Pre-order your copy here. The music video for “Runaways” can be seen above.
