"DIY means finding a common purpose with people who care as much about something as you do. Trusting that through that passion, you will be able to figure out how to build something special together."
Your favourite hardcore band's favourite label. Boston label Run For Cover has made great strides in helping define hardcore, emo music, shoegaze and their various waves over its 20 years in action.
Title Fight, Fireworks, The Wonder Years, Tigers Jaw, Basement, Fiddlehead, Modern Baseball and more. Run For Cover are responsible for breaking and solidifying some of the most exciting and important acts in the canon of indie rock, and continue to do so, expanding their roster to showcase a variety of bands which bring something special to our independent music culture. Recent additions to the roster include alt-rock risers Enumclaw, Horse Jumper of Love, Anxious and more.
Following the label's 20th anniversary in November 2024, we celebrate their position as a stalwart within our alternative music scene, reflecting on some of their key releases and catalogue highlights, and introducing several new exclusive pressings, new represses and limited vinyl markdowns...
Run For Cover Exclusives
Rival Schools - United By Fate, Pedals and Found
Run For Cover team up with post-hardcore legends Rival Schools team up with for a set of limited reissues. Iconic 2001 debut United By Fate, 2011 sophomore Pedals and Found, a collection of rarities, demos and alternate takes created between these albums. All on Rough Trade Exclusive coloured vinyl.
Fiddlehead - Springtime and Blind
Fiddlehead’s debut LP Springtime and Blind. An exploration of grief both introspective and through the insight of others. On Rough Trade Exclusive cloudy blue and red vinyl.
Modern Baseball - You’re Gonna Miss It All|
The second studio album by Philadelphia emo outfit Modern Baseball. 12 tracks that showcase the band's signature witty indie-pop. On Rough Trade Exclusive bleach marble vinyl.
Citizen - Youth (10 Year Anniversary Edition)
To celebrate 10 years of Youth, Citizen and Run For Cover Records teamed up to completely update the band’s debut LP. An album which takes notes from the head banging tempo of grunge, the hazy reverb of shoegaze and the catharsis of emo together to make something deeply personal and profound. On Rough Trade Exclusive sunset marble vinyl.
Tigers Jaw - Charmer (10 Year Collector's Edition)
To celebrate 10 Years of Charmer, Tigers Jaw and Run For Cover teamed up for a one-time collector's edition anniversary pressing of the record. A raucous and infectious portrait of adolescence, a key album of the ongoing emo revival. This limited pressing is housed in a canvas outer sleeve that is embroidered with the album's iconic art - replicating in full the original stitched flower & lettering. On Rough Trade Exclusive pink and orange swirl vinyl.
Run for Cover Markdowns
We have special pricing (for a limited time only) across select titles in the label's catalogue in-store and online. Titles from Turnover, Fiddlehead, Pinegrove, Makthaverskan, Tony Molina, Citizen, Horse Jumper Of Love, Runnner and more, with up to 30% off.
We speak to Label Manager Tom Chiari about the Run For Cover ethos, their Rival Schools reissue campaign, finding new artists and more.
Founded in the early 2000s, Run For Cover Records captured the energy of a rising DIY scene on America’s East Coast. Whether a specific era of emo, post-hardcore territories or overtly heavier music, it appears a DIY ethic was common ground for the diverse artists RFC was bringing in. Can you explain what being DIY means to the label or any other important characteristics denying the RFC ethos?
To me DIY means finding a common purpose with people who care as much about something as you do. Trusting that through that passion, you will be able to figure out how to build something special together. That’s been at the core of what we do from the beginning. With the perspective of 20 years of doing the label, time has only solidified the importance of that ethos, to not only RFC but each of our individual lives.
Run For Cover has greatly evolved since its initial model, a small one-person bedroom operation (run by founder Jeff Casazza in Boston) releasing 7 inches from primarily new bands (Balance and Composure, Tigers Jaw, The Wonder Years, Basement/Fiddlehead and many more). What has changed the most about what people are looking for from vinyl releases since these early days?
For us in the early days, a lot of times it was about putting out a record for a band who had never had a record on vinyl before, and establishing a community around the curation of those partnerships. Those core principles still exist, but with experience, and with streaming I like to think we’ve become more intentional with what our final product looks like. If people are going to buy a record, they are looking for something that’s going to deepen their relationship with the music and with the universe that the artist (and label) has created. It’s an opportunity for us to do something cool and show people why any record deserves their time and money.
This year Run For Cover team up with post-hardcore legends Rival Schools to reissue all three of their iconic LPs Found, Pedals and United By Fate (following the Run For Cover RSD reissue of this in 2022). What is the significance of being able to revisit this catalogue and what went into the process of planning how to re-present these albums to the RFC audience?
It’s hard to overstate how cool it is to be able to work with Rival Schools on these iconic records. I was in a band called Hostage Calm, named after an unreleased late Quicksand demo, which was made around the time Rival Schools was formed. Hostage Calm signed with RFC in 2009, which is how I first met Jeff. Then I started working for RFC officially in 2011. That same year Pedals came out and Hostage Calm opened the Pedals tour, which is really how I first met Walter and Sammy. My band had been obsessed with and influenced by United by Fate so it already felt like a full circle moment at that point.
"The process of working hand in hand with the band, diving into their history and recontextualizing the story of those albums and eras was amazing. And bringing these records to the audience we’ve built at RFC has been truly special."
We’re really excited by some of RFC’s recent releases, with albums from Horse Jumper of Love, Enumclaw and Armlock dropping in 2024, bands which are firmly on our radar at Rough Trade. All of these bands seem influenced by a tapestry of hardcore, grunge, emo and indie subgenres whilst still establishing a distinctive sound. What is it about these artists which sets them apart from their contemporaries and makes them a good fit for RFC?
Those common influences are the foundation of a common language when we start talking to a band we want to work with. We have a wide variety of tastes, which is reflected across our catalogue. Really, when it comes down to it, we love their music and believe they have something important to contribute to the cultural conversation. In an era where any band can upload their music and distribute it to everyone in an instant, we also have to believe that we can help them achieve a level of success they wouldn’t be able to do on their own, or with another partner. As we look back on the catalogue, which is really our legacy, we want to be proud of each piece of music we released and the work we put in to help it reach a new audience.
Label Founder Jeff Casazza shares five Run For Cover hidden gems...
Agent - Awake In Their World
Agent were a young band from Long Island who put out two EPs, I Wouldn’t Trade That For Anything on New York label Iron Pier Records and Awake In Their World on RFC in 2009, totalling an output of 9 songs. Long Island-style punk/emo in the vein of Silent Majority meets slight elements of early Dischord stuff. They don’t have a single bad song, but unfortunately never released a full-length. They played with Title Fight a lot during this time, and there really are no better bands doing this style since. People still mention this band and 7” to me pretty regularly which is a testament to it holding up 15+ years later.
Hostage Calm - S/T
I am not sure it’s fair to call this record underrated, as most people I know would tell you it's incredible, but wow - it's good. Completely pivoting from the melodic youth crew of their 2008 full-length Lens, 2010’s S/T is almost indescribable in comparison. There are elements of artists and scenes that were obviously influential to the band, The Clash, Morrissey and Long Island hardcore, but there are also moments unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. This record takes a lot of risks that pay off, which explains why it still sounds so fresh. The beginning of Ballots/Stones still throws me for a loop.
Crying - Get Olde / Second Wind
Most Crying fans will reference the iconic Beyond the Fleeting Gales record, but I am here to tell you about the chiptune classic Get Olde / Second Wind. I heard of Crying through a fake Best New Music Pitchfork review the band posted on Tumblr, and immediately fell in love with the song ES. Having a Gameboy as their bass player turned some people off, but there are some incredible pop songs on this collection of the band's first two EPs. At the time, it worried me when they decided to drop the Gameboy for their next record, but the band managed to perfectly expand on what they had started, replacing the videogame noises with Van Halen guitars and a surprisingly progressive approach to indie pop.
Self Defense Family / Meredith Hunter Split 7"
In 2014 we did a subscription series of split 7s, and we either didn’t have a last entry for it, or something fell through. Knowing how prolific SDF was at the time, and their willingness to entertain out-of-the-box ideas, I asked Patrick if they would be willing to do a split with themselves, where they simply make up the other band. What emerged from this is the captivating and unexpected Gold Star Mother by Meredith Hunter. It reminds me of a Fleetwood Mac song through the lens of SDF, with Patrick nowhere to be found. Coupled with the completely different a-side Russian History, this split showcases what makes the Defense Family special.
Young Statues - S/T
Much like Hostage Calm’s S/T, this Young Statues record has its cheerleaders, but there simply isn’t enough of them. I believe this record was submitted to us in full before we had ever heard of the band, and it was something we immediately wanted to do. I strongly believe this record is near perfect. One listen to the opening track Spacism and you’ll immediately wonder how this record didn’t reach more people.
Further Reading...
Find out more about Run For Cover's roster with our friends at Rough Trade New York in their interview with Run For Cover band Narrow Head.