Thursday 11/08/05 Morning Runner @ Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff

For a band ‘halfway’ through their debut album, Morning Runner have accelerated through an infancy period and progressed with Herculean aplomb. Having opened label mates Coldplay’s recent stadium tour and cracked the top 40 with their vivacious new single ‘Gone Up In Flames’, to ensure the forward momentum ensues, Morning Runner have galvanised enough of a fan-base to embark on their first headline tour. The early signs are promising with lead singer Matthew Greener’s vocals graceful in delivery, especially on the organic musings of ‘Not Everyone’s My Friend’. Imagine a more kinetic sounding Keane with incandescent guitars and you’re halfway there.

‘In The Meantime’ continues the echoing vocal exchange by Greener and glacial pianist Fields, encompassing a melodic swathe that rumbled Ifor Bach’s floorboards. The band’s audience interaction is sadly a bit limited due to Greener’s bout of laryngitis but they soldiered on with the occasional ‘cheers’ between songs. Switching sounds with an epic indecisiveness, the mood went from serene to aggressive on ‘Drawing Shapes’, a hybrid of taut harmonics with Greener’s vocals being stretched to their absolute limit. Later, ‘Hold Your Breath’ gives time for Greener to rightly catch his breath and the velocity of noise ground almost to a complete halt. While inaugural calling card ‘Great Escape’ harks back to the bands early garage-rock meandering's but with the addition of Fields sublime ivories give the tune a whole new weighted angle.

As the set drew ever closer to its conclusion, the underpinning theme between laments became clear. Morning Runner were leaning towards a two dimensional sound and a yawning sameness which initially presented itself as unique – that is until the triumphant ‘Gone Up In Flames’ announces itself on what had been a fairly static crowd. Once the latter half of their eponymous debut is completed, Morning Runner will add severe flesh to an already intriguing base that combines raw emotion with erstwhile melodies. In a world of Coldplay troubadours, they may just stand out from the rest.