County Line Runner's Self-Titled Debut EP: A Perfect Fall Soundtrack
By Alexandria Hopkins
British singer-songwriter County Line Runner’s Self-Titled EP is atmospheric, eerie, and essential listening for the fall.
With a sudden change in the weather, people are turning away from this year’s biggest summer releases—from Taylor Swift to Vampire Weekend—and moving on to their fall favorites (alongside the turtlenecks and lattes). It is with this shift that I have begun to think about my favorite releases—established or new and recent—that remind me of the season and all of its idiosyncrasies.
I admittedly get stuck on a few different options: Coldplay’s A Rush of Blood To The Head, Haim’s Something to Tell You, and sometimes even a “chill lo-fi hip-hop” playlist, if I am in the mood. Though I can get stuck on a certain group of albums/artists during this time of the year, sometimes, I come across new editions that shift the scope of this personal category.
This is where we find ourselves with British singer-songwriter County Line Runner. Though he has only released a couple of singles (“Saw You In a Dream” and “Cold Dawn” being chilling standouts), Adam Day, the face behind the moniker, has established himself as a standout due to his soulful, impactful voice. If anything was to prove this fact (and then some), it is most definitely the release of his self-titled EP.
There is something uniquely timeless about County Line Runner—something that feels familiar, and yet, new to the ears every time you replay. Part of that timelessness comes from his ability to channel what we love about some of the greatest artists of our time.
Songs such as “Ball of the Land Shark” catch CLR at his most “Bruce Springsteen-iest,” placing roaring guitar lines alongside a husky, controlled vocal performance that can make you feel as though you are running across state lines. Day’s similarities to other greats such as Neil Young and Creedence Clearwater Revival shine in the high-paced daydream-state of “Saw You in a Dream. His attempt at nostalgic days in suburbia with “Our Little World,” draws on Who’s Next-era The Who.
For the first time in quite some time, I had been introduced to an artist that didn’t leave it all out on the table—I was left wondering what CLR was about. As described by Day himself, the CLR persona “summarizes his place at a handful of intersections—upbeat energy versus introverted vulnerability, folk sensibilities versus rock ambition, and nostalgia-for-days-gone-by versus hope-for-the-future.” The nostalgia, the grievance, and the composure in such grief—that made sense—but there was something I couldn’t put my finger on.
But then, it all began to make sense with one moment in particular.
This epiphany came upon listening to the EP’s finale, “Like a Love Poem to A Prayer” (a live recording from Yawn Studios). The track, as opposed to much of the EP, is much less hopeful in tone throughout its tender moments—eerily similar to the energy depicted by Joni Mitchell or Carole King. There are brief glimpses at some kind of happiness, some time prior that was not all “doom and gloom.”
Even without being a happy conclusion, this track brings some closure; it lets you step into the world, feeling less lonely and scared than you might’ve been. It is nostalgic of happier times, those when you were unafraid to face the bitter winds and admire not what could have been, but what comes after.
Listen to County Line Runner’s debut Self-Titled EP, available on a variety of streaming services now!