Album Reviews

Formerly known as Betrayal, this Los Angeles quartet changed their name to Runaway Kids to match their new sound. Listening to “Better Days” though, the term ‘new sound’ doesn’t exactly come to mind. If you told me either Fat Mike or Brett Gurewitz dug this up from their archives, I would believe you. That’s because the six songs that make up “Better Days” sound like your average Epi/Fat release from back in the day. As if to completely drive home the comparison, they even had Randy Bradbury from punk stalwarts Pennywise play bass on the entire thing.

If any of the above comes across as somewhat negative, it’s not meant that way. “I Remember” cleverly combines the catchiness of say, Sum 41 with a fierce hardcore breakdown while the title track is skatepunk at its most melodic. Original? Nope. Pretty damn entertaining? Yes! Well, except for the acoustic version of “I Remember” at the end, which is pretty grating. And if that last bit comes across as somewhat negative, well…it’s meant that way.