On an ever-evolving music scene, many bands are tirelessly and repeatedly exploring the same old sound, invented by so many great acts decades ago. Still, some music outlets are willing to experiment and try new things out in order to deliver songs that will resonate with the listeners on a profound level. Modern Refuge is a perfect example of how rock music can still sound fresh, unique, innovative, exciting, and addictive. “Runaway Dream,” their latest full-length album released on August 1st, carries everything you ever needed from a band. Marvelous vocal performance, impressive guitar works, equally intricate basslines, and majestic drumming are just some of the qualities this incredible material carries with it. Arriving after countless standalone singles and an excellent live acoustic session called “Hold Up The Mirror,” this debut full-length serves as an adequate follow-up to their previous works, yet it arrives with so many innovations in songwriting, composing, arranging, and producing, showcasing a natural progression of an already fascinating band. Perhaps their music can be described as rock, but there are so many styles lurking around. You’ll notice how they incorporated some of the finest properties of alternative, indie, math, progressive, soul, rhythm and blues, and pop rock. They use all these additional elements as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details to uplift this exceptional collection of songs to an entirely new level while simultaneously remaining loyal to the primary sonic direction. Although “Runaway Dream” shines with qualities that meet all the trends in modern music production, you’ll also notice how these experienced musicians incorporated subtle touches of nostalgia. These additional moves spice things up and give this marvelous album even more detail, complexity, and catchiness. Therefore, these experimentations with different techniques, various approaches, and complementary music genres resulted in a one-of-a-kind material that will not only appeal to the fans of the mentioned styles but also to everyone who appreciates cleverly assembled and flawlessly performed music.
As soon as you press play, you’ll notice that Modern Refuge poured heart and soul into this material. Their songwriting and composing abilities shine throughout the entire album. Each composition arrives with a perfect song structure, riddled with so many profoundly detailed segments, brilliant ideas, and excellent musicianship. Whether diving deep into progressive aesthetics with a marvelous opening track “Teething,” bringing soul, synth, and rhythm and blues into math and progressive rock banger “Wave Empire,” diving deep into a psychedelic universe with “Pearl,” showcasing admiration towards indie sound on “Envelope Trench,” experimenting with folk rock aesthetics at “Becalmed” and “Rope,” Modern Refuge deliver premium musicianship rarely heard on the contemporary music scene. The second part of the album is equally brilliant. Bands capable of merging so many styles at once without sounding chaotic are very rare, but these folks manage to do it with such precision and finesse. For example, “Velvet Gulch” marvelously explores funk and soul while diving deep into the indie rock fundamentals, “Bray” and “Shale” exemplify how alternative and indie rock ballads should sound in 2025, “Coconino” brings back memories of the good old days when alternative rock ruled the airwaves by exploring everything that made nineties rock so catchy, memorable, and engaging. The band delivers more songs in the same vein with “Sweet Old Time” and “Gloss,” two marvelous compositions that serve as a perfect closure of such incredible material. The best part about “Runaway Dream” is how it wraps around the listening apparatus, refusing to let go long after the last notes and beats fade. It will also force you to repeat all these songs all over again due to their qualities.
It would be such a shame not to mention the jaw-dropping contributions of each member. The soulful, passionate, sincere, confident, emotive, powerful vocal performance elevates the entire material to new heights, commands attention, and guides the listening apparatus from scratch to finish. Her impressive vocal range seamlessly balances low, mid, and high notes, emphasizing everything the remainder of Modern Refuge intended to achieve with this album. Besides decorating all these segments and orchestrations, these vocal harmonies contribute more than necessary emotional depth and detail over an already intricate song structure. There are also additional vocal layers, back vocals, and sing-alongs, implemented to give more depth, spice things up, and uplift particular moments or entire songs. In the meantime, the guitars shine in the limelight, shaping a perfect backdrop for all the vocals. The cleverly assembled interplays between rhythm and lead craft an otherworldly sound that immediately transports you into a completely different realm. The comprehensive collection of catchy chord progressions, riffs, lush harmonies, hypnotic melodies, themes, leads, and other sonic maneuvers continuously intervene, making this album even more appealing to the ears. “Runaway Dream” wouldn’t sound this good without an equally impressive rhythm section. You’ll notice how all those vividly hearable, complex, warm-sounding basslines rumble beneath the guitars, offering more than necessary heaviness, clarity, and depth while acting as a binding element between the mentioned instrumentations and rhythmic patterns. These basslines are rich, deep, dense, and heavy, bringing more power, groove, and detail to this material. The exceptional drumming performance, based upon tastefully assembled, flawlessly performed, well-accentuated, moderate beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics, keeps everything in line while dictating groove and pace. Every instrument has its place and purpose in this sonic equation, so the listening pleasure is more than guaranteed.
With “Runaway Dream,” Modern Refuge crafted a masterpiece that will not appeal only to alternative and indie rock fans but to anyone who appreciates music written and performed straight from the heart. It’s a deeply emotional, soulful, intricate material that carries so many qualities that it’s impossible to hear them all out in one listening session. Modern Refuge are a prime example of how alternative rock music can still sound exciting, innovative, fresh, and unique, and you should immediately place “Runaway Dream” on your music radar. The album is available on all streaming platforms. Don’t miss it!
Thoughts Words Action 