On a rainy October night in the intimate venue The Mercury Lounge, the new British band County Line Runner, captivated the audience as they performed to promote the drop of their new EP, released today.
County Line Runner is the moniker for the London based lead singer and song writer, Adam Day and his excellent band of mates. Day came onto the scene almost out of nowhere when he released his debut singles “Hard To Find,” and “Wide Eyes,” which have generated over 1 million Spotify streams. Clearly listeners were won over by his moving and ambiguous lyrics, with melodies that are reminiscent of the legendary Smiths.
This singer-songwriter on the rise has been praised by Clash Magazine, PopMatters, Atwood Magazine and Beyond The Stage Magazine saying, County Line Runner, “is using his honest and introspective observations to create special songs chronicling his life, and the lives of those around him.”
His EP, released today, is not just a collection of songs, but rather a whole story of his journey, revealing the hopeful and tragic moments that accompany it, and make you feel like your right there with him.
The set was short, but kept us wanting more. Lasting for no more than 30 minutes, Day played his adventurous ballad “Hard To Find” that evokes the grit of moving on and the heartbreak that goes along with it. “Our Little World” began with a kind of trippy guitar sequence going into a nice soft drum rhythm. The poetic voice and lyrics of Day only adds emotion to his misty yet structured melodies.
One of his most impressive performances was of “Saw You In A Dream,” an introspective and self-aware song that speaks of wistfulness and a kind of cowboy sensibility.
Day has an extreme talent for song writing and has even been compared to some of the best songwriters of all time, Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. His music is full of contradictions starting with “upbeat energy versus introverted vulnerability, then folk sensibilities versus rock ambition, and nostalgia-for-days-gone-by versus hope-for-the-future.”
This eloquent singer-songwriter agreed to be questioned by The Knock on his new EP release. Read below to discover the ins and outs of each of his songs and learn about one of his teenage songs that is particularly precious to him.
The Knockturnal: Congrats on your EP, which is coming out on the 11th, what has it been like for you with the impending release of the EP release?
Adam Day: Yeah, I can’t lie, it’s been really good. It just feels like it’s been such a long time. I’ve had the songs for a couple of years so to have it together as a solid body of work is really great, instead of a lot of singles.
The Knockturnal: Your newest release was “Cold Dawn “back in the beginning of September, can you talk about the meaning of the song?
Adam Day: Yeah, “Cold Dawn” I sort of wrote and then put it aside. I write loads of little things and then I just left it. Then we were recording, and I played part of it, and Sam (guitarist) just said, “Mate that’s one of my favorites!” So, I went okay, and I finished it. I’m really happy that he said that, or it would have never been made because I would have forgotten about it. I write a lot of stuff and then just forget about it. I’m stupid like that to be honest. It’s kind of annoying! I just don’t like hanging around on one idea too long, so I kind of write intensely for short periods and I’ll come back to it, or sometimes it’s just finished.
The Knockturnal: How did you first become inspired to make music?
Adam Day: I think it was about when I was 14 or 15. I fell in love with this band called Oasis. But my family are from where they are from so it kind of made me feel connected to them. And then I just started writing lyrics. Just silly little things. Then I learned guitar when I was 16, and just started learning Beatles songs and then Bob Dylan songs, and then I did my own songs. Now I look back and sort of cringe a bit at my old songs. I wrote a song about my sister. I must have been about 16. I remember it actually! I think it was called “Precious Girl.” I always kind of wrote songs, but I wouldn’t really finish them. It took me a long time to get it together and come out with these songs. I’m just really slow in that respect.
The Knockturnal: Your first releases “Hard to Find” and “Cold Eyes” which became extremely popular, how was it to become such a success after just releasing a couple of songs?
Adam Day: Yeah, It’s crazy! I remember it was Sam who was kind of encouraging me to put stuff out there and just put the songs out. So, I recorded them and put them online, and I said “if we get 10,000 streams, I will be over the moon!” And right now, look at it! It’s just strange. And sometimes you can see how many people listen in that time and it says like, “220 people listened to your song.” It’s so mind bending you know? It’s just stuff that I wrote on my own and just kind of did, I’ve always done it. It feels like I get something off my chest. To think that so many people listen to it is really nice
The Knockturnal: I really like the song, “Ballad of A Land Shark,” which is coming out on your new EP what was the inspiration behind that song?
Adam Day: A lot of these songs aren’t about specific experiences. I don’t want to come across as really miserable and morbid, but at that time in my life I sort of lost control and I would find myself in bad situations. And I think the line in that song ‘every time I come up for air I slowly sink,’ is how I felt. That kind of nails it. I just kept trying to get out of a situation but I couldn’t seem to do it. Yeah, it was a pretty dark period. But it’s got a kind of upbeat melody, so in my mind I feel like that’s a happy song. There’s a kind of optimism about it. Even though you feel like your suffocating in a situation, you still have to have that tiny bit of hope because things can change.
The Knockturnal: You have been likened to some great names, like Bruce Springsteen or Bob Dylan, do you have a favorite band or musician?
Adam Day: I’m not walking around thinking I’m like Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen! But they were huge influences in those songs that I was writing when I was 17. Yeah, that’s just kind of how I write songs now. I love the stories and lyrics. Sometimes, it can be more ambiguous and that you feel that you know where it is. That’s such a weird thing! With Dylan you could look through the lyrics and not really know what it’s about, but you get that feeling that you know. It’s more of a metaphor than actually saying it. You just kind of write what you feel and not over analyze it too much. I try not to get caught up in it all. I just haven’t got that sort of method. I’m not that clever!
The Knockturnal: Is there a particular song that you are especially connected to? Do you have a favorite?
Adam Day: Yeah, I think “Our Little World” I really like because it’s about me and my son. I think we were just watching TV or something and I just felt so happy and content, and that I’m happy not chasing anything and not getting caught up in anything else. I’m just happy here watching the TV with my little boy. That’s what really matters you know? Not everything else. I never thought I’d feel like that. So, yeah, I think it’s that song. And you compare it to “Ballad of The Landshark,” and it’s like I got out of that situation and made it “Our Little World.” It’s all very full circle. I’m really proud of all the songs.
The Knockturnal: What are your plans for the future of County Line Runner?
Adam Day: Loads! I would love to do an album, that’s the next step. Hopefully people will like the EP and it’s really nice, the EP, because when you hear the songs next to each other, you can see the connection with them and hear the story. But I’ve written an album that’s sort of done. Just need to release it!
Check out County Line Runner’s moving new EP out today
