Artistry and Distinction in Record-Making since 1980
JEFFREY RUNNINGS
For decades Jeffrey Runnings has been known in the world of underground music for his tenure as songwriter, lead singer, bass player and only constant member of For Against, a band that emerged through the alluring mist of post-punk and later embraced the spark and melodies of dream pop. His relationship with Independent Project Records began in the autumn of 1985, when label founder Bruce Licher received a hand-written letter from Lincoln, Nebraska: “please send me any information on how I may increase communication with IPR…”, the writer, Jeffrey, had stated at the very beginning. Many letters had followed. Tapes, too: Licher loved what he heard and went on to release For Against’s Echelons (1987), December (1988) and In The Marshes (1990), later co-releasing Aperture in 1993 and Shelf Life in 1997. Their correspondence never stopped.
Fast forward nearly forty years, and IPR finds itself in the bittersweet position of releasing Piqued, the last album from Jeffrey Runnings. A posthumous release that’s also a celebration of the artist’s lifelong quest for a sound that, stripped to the bones, is all the more powerful and cathartic for its restraint, Piqued was recorded by Runnings at home on an old 8-track cassette machine. It plays just like a late '80s mixtape, lovingly compiled to showcase the beautiful emptiness of post-punk’s more eloquently quiet peaks. The favourites of a lifetime – from Section 25 to The Comsat Angels, from Young Marble Giants to early 4AD singles - are conjured as Runnings’ final songs play. Stark and deadpan on the surface, this is electric guitar music in its most human and vulnerable form.
Currently scheduled for release in the early summer of 2025, Piqued is being made available on vinyl (black or transparent magenta), Special Edition CD and digital, and comes with a 4-track EP of rare recordings from the late '80s - two of them previously unreleased - available on clear with silver 12’’ vinyl and as bonus tracks on the CD.
Listen to the first single from the album, "Batman Forever":
For Against appears on IPR's outstanding compilation CD, Source. Listen to "The Pennines":