"Things fall apart and people change / and I grew up, that's what I'll say / to hide the truth, it's on display / I cannot make it on my own."

While the majority of Run, Forever's debut full length The Devil And Death And Me deals with the pain of losing someone, (in their case bandmate Corey Wolfram) the Pittsburgh based trio's new seven-inch, A Few Good Things, focuses on moving on. By their own description, the theme of the record is "renewal and growth" and while they may be growing as individuals, their music is right there with them. Run, Forever seem to have nailed their sound with this release; the folk influence is still there but it is more subtle this time around and the songs are presented in a more melodic way than their previous effort.

A Few Good Things spans four tracks, two of which are acoustic. Overall, the record feels more focused and every aspect of the songwriting hits its mark more clearly. Production has also improved from the debut full-length. The sound is tighter and crisper. The instruments have been brought forward without getting in the way. The vocals are still front and center. Guitarist/vocalist Anthony Heubel remains honest in his delivery but comes off as slightly more polished than his "raw to the point of quavering" style in The Devil And Death And Me.

A Few Good Things picks up right where its predecessor left off. It's a completely natural progression and not one second of it sounds out of place. Run, Forever remain a welcome change of scenery from the flood of cookie-cutter bands that can only be told apart by the artwork on their Bandcamp page. You can always tell when a band plays their music with passion dripping out of every pore and Run, Forever is no exception.