Monofog’s eponymous first album was an exhilarating fireball of angst and outrage. You could hear the coming revolution in its cataclysm of sound and fury.

"Runner" is a more nuanced affair from musicians who have matured and evolved beyond the primal need to ferociously claw out at a world seemingly filled with deceit and hostility.

Some might call this record mellow compared to their previous work. It might be more precise to say that Monofog has had more time to refine their unflinching introspection and their critique of the world around them.

“No Proper Nouns” has a mind-bending rhythm and Doug Spencer’s beautifully employed atonal guitar line that sounds oh-so-much like grappling with and ultimately learning to navigate through the disjointed landscape of modern life.

Seething rockers like “White Teeth and War” and “Everything In Its Place” prove that Monofog has lost none of its blistering edge while haunted songs like “Take My Flesh” and “Brittle Bones” show a side of the band concerned with more subtle moods and textures.

The album ends with a signpost to the band’s possible musical future with the murky and hypnotic, yet ominous, “Medicine.”

"Runner" is proof positive that this band is capable of writing an album of surprising diversity without compromising the strong artistic vision that fueled their original fires.