Run, Forever are obviously very much influenced by No Idea and Plan-It-X bands from the early 2000s. Bands like Against Me!, Defiance, Ohio, and Scouts Honor are all over this recording. That’s not to say that’s a bad thing, really. The songs are actually very well structured and the musicianship is remarkably high considering the amount of bands that pick up on this sound as an easy outlet to not have to think about things like actual songwriting. The songs and recording here stand up to most of the bigger bands in the genre. Some of the songs feel like there’s an amount of forced eclecticism (the country beat in “Grand Illusion” is a stab at branching out, but falls short, and the slower pace of “No Truth” is unashamedly pop) that feels like it weakens the record, but at least the band is making steps to try things that are a little different.
–Ian Wise (solidarityrecordings.com)