Racing Kites – Be My Runaway

Artist: Racing Kites
Album: Be My Runaway
Label: None

Racing Kites is one of those bands that music fans (including myself) are probably on the fence about. I couldn’t decide whether I really liked them or not, because even though I enjoyed listening to their sampler from last summer, I had also doubted that they could top anything off that sampler in the future. It turns out I was wrong. With the release of Be My Runaway, Racing Kites show that they still have plenty of room to expand their potential and showcase their talent way beyond what I was expecting.

Bouncy riffs, catchy hooks, soaring choruses, and more make Be My Runaway one of the top pop EPs released from an unsigned band last year. It’s easy to tell this band has grown; it only took me one minute in Be My Runaway to realize this. Lead singer Alex Ziabko’a voice isn’t so pitchy anymore and the instrumentals are precise and clean (courtesy of producer Rob Freeman). “All Night is Alright” reappears from the sampler, and while it’s produced by the pop-music gods Zack Odom and Kenneth Mount, it continues to be a weak song. Thankfully, that’s the only weak point of the entire EP.

I cannot describe in words how much I like the song “Be My Runaway”. If there’s any song this band will be known for, it’s this one. The surging intro, the soaring chorus, and the gang vocals at the end all connect together to form pop music perfection. On top of all the goodness this song delivers, the lyrics even come together as not being overly-cheesy, something that most bands are victims of.

Acoustically, this band has always made my heart throb. “Restless” from 2007’s We Hold It All Together was on so many mix tapes of mine, and when I heard “My Everything”, I started feeling like a teenage girl all over again. Definitely the “Hey There Delilah” of the future.

Racing Kites surely doesn’t sound like an unsigned band anymore; this EP completely blows me away. They’ve improved on all aspects of music and I get the feeling the future is going to be larger than life for these guys. Let Racing Kites be YOUR runaway.