Rising UK artist Runner Up explores different kinds of exits and transitions in life on his thoughtful new album Departure Fever
Immediately winning us over with the release of his excellent debut single ‘I Wanna Be Late’, Bristol based multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer Dave Huntriss, better known as Runner Up, has now released his debut album Departure Fever following the release of four similarly stellar singles.
The album opens with ‘Silver Medal’, a track about feeling perennially second best, immediately tying in to the name Runner Up and the idea of just coming up short. Rather than feeling negative though, it gives the artist more of an underdog charm, the everyman just doing his best and giving listeners someone to root for as they do what they can, relatable and earnest in his approach, even when it feels like he isn’t getting anywhere and can’t realise his hopes and dreams.
‘Let’s Go To London’ follows, the second ever single from the project and a track that has a really charming and personable feel to it, something that is something of a trademark of the artist thanks to the earnest and instantly relatable nature of his writing and the way that he articulates his themes. The optimistic and fun feel of the track does a really great job of spreading to the listener, and makes for a wonderful listening experience that counteracts some of its more sombre moments.
The idea of leaving or departing is a theme that crops up throughout the album, whether literal or metaphorical, happy or sad. ‘1 Year, 1 Month’ is a track that deals with the end of a relationship, and sees the artist delving into the most vulnerable and intimate places that his sound reaches with the help of guest vocals from Jemima Coulter, making for one of the album’s most powerful moments and stopping you in your tracks.
This idea of a breakup is explored further on the soaring ‘I Wanna Be Late’, a track that holds a special place to me as the one that introduced me to Runner Up and his distinctive appeal. In the context of the album, the track provides a really powerful and euphoric moment of respite following some heavier moments, and despite its conflicted and still unsure narrative, the sheer force and dynamism of the sound makes for a riot of a time.
The album is packed full of these moments that leave an impression on you as a listener, from the earnest honesty and adoration of ‘Amazing Human Being’, to the brooding, contemplative nature of ‘Everything Has Changed, But I’m The Same’, these moments of the changing of circumstances, geographical or personal departures, deaths, and ends of relationships all make for similarly compelling tales, aided by Dave’s compelling brand of storytelling and the way that he puts the tracks together. By the time the climatic ‘The Answer’ draws to an end and the atmospheric ‘Departures (pt.1)’ brings us to an end, it dawns on you the weight and emotional toll that the album has possessed on the whole, making for a collection of tracks that leave a lasting imprint on you as a listener and offer a powerful range of perspectives on the word ‘departure’.
