Jeff Runnings of For Against releasing first solo LP (listen to two songs)

Jeff Runnings has fronted Midwest dreampop cult heroes For Against for 30 years, making shoegaze before it was called that in a part of the country (Nebraska) where they were basically the solo flag-flyers for anything post-punk. (With graphic designer Bruce Licher, they’ve also had some of the most distinctive cover art of any band of the last three decades.) If you’ve never checked them out, Captured Tracks put out a lovely For Against box set that’s still available.

Runnings will release his first-ever solo album, titled Primitives and Smalls, on May 6 via Saint Marie Records. This is different sonic territory for Jeff, more in line with New Order or The Wake than the dark haze his band makes. We’ve got the premiere of the video for new single “Running Oslo.” Watch that, and listen to another song off the album (“Travelogue”), below.

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