A relationship that began with a simple fan letter, the careers of Independent Project Records and Jeffrey Runnings have been entwined for four decades, not only with his band For Against, but as a solo artist too. Therefore, it’s apt that Jeffrey’s final album should be on the Independent imprint, and Piqued makes for a fitting epitaph. A career which Jeffrey has been searching high and low for that elusive feel and sound, it seems that with Piqued he finally found it.
Raised on a diet of records that had a distinctly minimalist approach (The Banshees’ The Scream, Bauhaus’ In The Flat Field), the notion that less-is-more was a key component in Jeffrey’s modus operandi. Like a mason chipping away at stone to create a unique structure, Jeffrey did a similar thing with sonics, removing all superfluous and ornate trappings until all that was left was the actual song (which, let’s face it, was always the most important thing). The benefits of this approach are twofold; firstly, it allows Jeffrey to shift the listener’s focus like a director shooting film, he’ll turn our attention to what’s considered most salient. Take the boisterous bassline that forms the centrepiece of ‘Just Before Nothing, it seems to fade in and out, obscured by other sounds that bleed into the song and subsequently it constantly repositions our viewpoint. Secondly, the space within these songs creates plenty of room for the listener to infer their own meaning which makes Piqued more of a collaborative affair, as if the listener is sharing ideas with the artist.
Minimalist this album might be, but that doesn’t mean it’s short on ideas; there’s always something going on within these songs, it’s just that Jeffrey doesn’t feel the need to scrawl his sound on every surface. While many artists talk about “building up” and “layering” songs, Piqued takes the opposite route. Recorded on a trusty 8-track, songs such as ‘Elegy’ are parred back, but paradoxically, their cinematic quality also renders them full. It gives the album an overarching aesthetic, the way that sounds bleed into each other gives a feeling that Jeffrey has peeled back the thin veneer that separates this world from the next and offers a glimpse of what lies beyond. It means that these tracks hang together as a collective whole and while it’s perfectly feasible to dip in and out and appreciate the tracks individually, it’s best consumed whole to fully appreciate its ebb and flow.
Four rare recordings from the late 1980s are added as bonus tracks, they’re fuller than those which comprise Piqued and evidence how Jeffrey honed his craft over the preceding years. As per usual, Independent Project Records have done a great job with this album, taking great care with all aspects of this release, making it the perfect companion to the music contained within. Recorded just prior to Jeffrey’s untimely death, Piqued proves his life’s work a success.
- Piqued is released via Independent Project Records and is available now (from here).
Track List:
- Batman Forever
- Just Before Nothing
- Threadbare
- Mayfair
- Bloom
- The Courage Of Voluntary Trees
- Heretofore
- Failed Rescue Attempt
- Glorious Grey
- Value
- Elegy
Bonus Tracks:
- Follow
- Light Of My Life
- Watch
- Demolition Blast
