RUNNAMUCKS (Deficit Of Dreams) LP/CD
Hailing from Florida, 'Deficit Of Dreams' is the latest release of RUNNAMUCKS who have been around for many years. This time the band released the new album via Ripping Records in 2013, which is the record label of RUNNAMUCKS vocalist/guitarist Josh Dobbs. Apart from their preference for Marvel comics (that is reflected in the excellent cover artwork and in the booklet as well), these four guys love 1970's punk rock and I think that is a good thing for an old punk rocker like me. In doing this, they focus on bands such as Iggy & The Stooges, Ramones, and Dead Boys and combine these influences with a little power pop.
They call their music panic pop, but I think that punk rock is a better term, even though it sounds less spectacular. Not each of the included twelve songs is a winner, but fortunately the good ones are in the majority. For this reason, I can tolerate tracks like 'Don't Cry About Me' or 'Symbiote Saga' which is too sugary for my taste. Furthermore, it recalls a shitty band named Blink-182 and that is the moment when I feel the need to puke on my computer keyboard.
So let me write about the goods songs here as for example 'Independancy', which is powered by a Stooges-esque energy. 'Cheap As You' is another nasty hard rocking tune that comes along with a strong hookline, while 'Failure #1' could come from Jeff Dahl. And that is meant as a compliment. Obviously, 'Deficit Of Dreams' has a number of shortcomings like the bland production and also a few songs are terribly weak. Nonetheless, I like what this band is doing, but I would appreciate their music a lot more if it would have more bite.
(KK)