'Runaway' by Tess & The Details: Kick-Ass Female Led Punk

Author

Michael Bang of Tell Me Tell Me

STREAM 'RUNAWAY'

A song called “Blondie’s Gonna Die” kicks down the door to an album of 12 fiery songs in a taut 33 minutes. Lead singer Tess Stevens radiates rizz and decides she’s going to tackle you with her pain and leave you on the floor when she runs out the door. The songs are sharp and the laser production makes every tom hit and guitar strum shine through without ever covering up the real magic: Tess’s voice.

The world she sings about is a world of too many drinks, titular runaways, damaged people and the damage they do. It’s a dark world, but it’s also an irresistibly fun world. I saw them over the summer at Trixie Rasputin's Ever Higher Festival at Jerry Garcia Amphitheater. Tess & The Details really brought it, crackling with energy and filling the summer afternoon with thrilling rage, turning their aches into raucous shout along choruses.

There’s so much to love in this pop punk burst of an album. “Take a Number” is a shit-kicking pit starter before down shifting to deliver its message, then punching you in the face with the ending. “Unnatural Disaster” soundtracks a yet to exist coming of age movie. “Jester” rips power chords out of guitars like pages from a diary, and ends with a turn-up-the-dial key change. Whoa-oa-oas get deployed like weapons. Tess can turn a phrase on a dime: “it makes you want to cry so turn your eyelashes inside out tonight” “I’m hypercritical borderline pitiful but goddamn I know how to lie” and one of my favorites: “I only sing in the key of the dead.”

The band's mission is to use its platform via lyric messages and social channels to address vital topics such as mental health, gender equality, and the promotion of optimism. A strong emphasis is placed on fostering connections with their audience. The only thing I don’t recommend is trying to do your taxes while you listen to it (it’s been a multitasking day). It’s a blast! 5/5 horns 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘