" where other instrumental bands rely on the distortion pedal and the quiet-loud-quiet-loud format, ATR are unwilling to rest on such laurels. they are imaginative, sensitive and yet have a magnificent power that is rare and ulitmately very special " Simon Raymone (Cocteau Twins / Bella Union)
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* Excerpt from article posted 11/18/05 on MSNBC.com *

The band of four like-minded instrumentalists who have traditionally tip-toed around the prog genre, fall in full force on their newest release, incorporating keys and samples into bits and pieces of their ingenious auditory experiment. On the surface, Always the Runner reads like other instrumental contemporaries — the Appleseed Cast, Explosions in the Sky, Tristeza — yet underneath each song's soaring melodic exterior, an uncompromising intensity is evident. On “An August Golf,” Always the Runner dutifully traverses the basics of the genre, but stretches its arms just enough to contrive something satisfyingly unique.

With tracks like “Miles” and “You're Jumping Across Mountains,” the first half of “An August Golf” is soothing and warm, defiantly jovial on a CD that often steers the listener toward the austere. “Miles,” the disc's opener, is perhaps the best quantifier of Always the Runner's sound, offering trademark guitar riffs and beat breakdowns over a trickle of vocals via drummer-and-sometimes-singer Chad Favre. 

On “You're Jumping Across Mountains” Garret Morley and Eric Dills battle it out on guitar, sinking and rising as bassist Ian Stanford plucks notes below. “You're Jumping Across Mountains” slips nicely into the album's best track, “I Thought I'd Find You There,” which tag teams guitars and keys in a smorgasbord of stratospheric sounds. At first perceivably formulaic, the track breaks from a radio-friendly alt-jam to a grungy experiment in instrumental progression. The song's rowdy conclusion highlights the roughest and least restrained moments of the album, and consequently, the most memorable.

The band's aptitude for captivating is understated, not overpowering the listener — a skill best observed on “An August Golf (Part 1).” In Album Leaf tradition, Always the Runner gently embraces a soundtrack of twinkling chimes and xylophonic dings, while piano chords hold together the beautiful, yet sometimes muddy melody.

The disc's second half breaks the pace of earlier tracks, as the Always the Runner crew slows down to enjoy their own music making. “The Closest I Ever Came to Lightening” has the feel of an intimate jam session, while “Should a Bear Interrupt Your Picnic” is a crisp, clean, well-manufactured homage to rhythm rock. On “Something Important Happened in Falls Church,” Favre tests out his vocals, marking the only song on the disc with a distinctly lyrical purpose (Favre drops more rhymes on this tune than on all the songs on the rest of the album combined). The song is lively enough, and its laid-back acoustic feel is a nice addition to an otherwise explicitly electric collection of songs.
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This is an amazing CD.  One of the most original bands i've heard.  The music is powerful yet elequent at the same time.  The addition of vocals on two of the tracks proves that this band can do it all.  If you haven't heard this CD yet, get it now.  It's a must have.
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I have no doubt that anyone who listens to "An August Golf", or anything else by Always the Runner will enjoy it in some perspective, its hard to not enjoy. as an intrumental band, it can be difficult to have strong dynamics that still transistion easily. Always the Runner is one of the only intrumental bands that creates this concept so beautifully. I am satisfied listening to this CD no matter what kind of mood I am in, it always works for me. Listen to it, it will do the same for you....anyone who listens to music will be delighted by "An August Golf".
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