​Finn Runyon Jr. - The Kid

​Finn Runyon Jr.

The Kid
self-released; 2015

Finn Runyon Jr. is an eighteen-year-old musician and recent high school graduate. Like many that came before him he has aspirations of becoming a musician full time. In fact he is moving to Portland, Oregon to pursue his dreams.

Being almost twice as old as Runyon I can remember myself, and many others at eighteen- years old, having the same determination. I would go on tour, release albums and would even witness my peers have some success in the local scene in Chicago. At the end of the day none of the people I knew slipped through the cracks and became a household name but those were different times. 

With the advent of the Internet we not only have a lot more of everything but have also created an environment where niche artists (besides ultra stars like Justin Beiber and Taylor Swift) are the ones who are surviving. Whether it’s a vine star or a guy who is playing glitch infused dubstep, it’s these types of one-off artists who are starting to make an impact, get noticed and pull in enough cash to keep at it.  

This brings me to Runyon’s first release The Kid EP. The songs are decently written; he sings in a standard, soft-spoken singer/songwriter type way and all things considered makes pop music. It’s obvious the young artist has some talent but also lands straight smack dab in the middle of a market that has only become more oversaturated since recording equipment has become affordable and the sound quality has gotten better. 

The first track “Nordic Seas” contains tinges of an artist like Jack Johnson. Much like Johnson the music is relaxing and tranquil yet has a bit of a bounce. Runyon strums an acoustic guitar and sings while an organ, drums, bass and another guitar provide additional layers.

“She” has a similar vibe and certainly has mainstream viability. Runyon delivers a strong vocal performance, as the song gets more intense as it progresses. The third song is a cover of The Doors song “People Are Strange.” Perhaps if this song was done in a similar style to the first two songs it would work better but it wasn’t. Runyon even says it's done in a “punk rock” style. To be blunt the song sounded out of place with the other three songs. The closer “Perfect Two” makes more sense with the first two tracks.

As of right now Runyon doesn't have that distinct of a sound but luckily for him he's not my age. He’s eighteen and at that age the majority have just started to discover their “sound”.

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