From Jeff Casazza's humble bedroom to an indie powerhouse - Boston label Run For Cover has come a long way helping to elevate the alternative scene of hardcore, punk, emo, shoegaze music, and their ever changing variations in the last two decades.
Title Fight, Fireworks, The Wonder Years, Tigers Jaw, Basement, Fiddlehead, Modern Baseball and more. Run For Cover is where you can find new albums from legendary acts like Cursive as well as recent additions to the roster including Enumclaw, Horse Jumper of Love, Anxious and more.
As the label reached their 20th-anniversary last year, Rough Trade is excited to highlight their status as a guiding light in the current alternative music scene. Join us as we look back on some of their iconic releases and catalogue highlights, plus lauching 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 colored vinyl.
Fiddlehead - Springtime and Blind
Fiddlehead’s debut LP Springtime and Blind. An exploration of grief both introspective and through the insight of others. The relatable story of love and loss through the catharsis of spirited, loud indie rock. 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 headbanging 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.
For this Label Focus, we had Ned Russin of Glitterer (formerly Title Fight) catch up with Jacob Duarte from Narrow Head to chat about what initially drew them to Run For Cover from one era to the next, and more.
Tight Fight and Narrow Head's first releases on Run For Cover
Ned: Since this is the 20th anniversary of the label, what was your introduction to Run For Cover?
Jacob: I think my introduction was Title Fight's The Last Thing You Forget and even when I first heard that I don't think I was paying attention to what labels put out records. Title Fight may have been the reason I discovered the rest of the RFC roster.
Ned: How did Narrow Head get introduced to the label?
Jacob: I'm not entirely sure how we got introduced but I remember Ben Cook was doing a Young Guv record with them and he kept pestering them to check out Narrow Head. I think we had a few other friends hounding them for a couple of years too haha.
Jacob: Did it feel like a no brainer going with RFC for the Title Fight release?
Ned: Yeah of course. I think we met Jeff twice, once in Kingston and once in Allston, but it just felt like we had similar ideas about how we wanted to do stuff pretty immediately. Even though our time was short with them I still feel like we were pretty important to one another and I still feel connected to them.
Jacob: Was “The Last Thing You Forget” your first physical pressed LP? / Did RFC feel like a big deal at the time or was it just a homie thing?
Ned: We did one 7” and a split CD before then, both with this small label from Philly called Flight Plan. That was all happening pretty fast when we were in high school and we met Jeff right after those came out. I think basically every label seemed to be a big deal to us at that time. Like being able to buy early RFC records through Rev HQ was almost unfathomable to me. The label was still out of Jeff’s bedroom but that of course made sense, it never felt like either of us were trying to leave those simple places.
Ned: Did you initially consider yourselves a part of the Run For Cover sound and style? And how has that changed over time?
Jacob: Never really considered us the "sound" but maybe the "style"? When we were shopping 12th House Rock it became clear to me that RFC was the only label that made sense for us at the time. It was just a chill label that works hard and cares about their acts. We also come from the same "scene" if we wanna go there. DIY and hardcore. Thats how I know most of the people I do now.
"When we were shopping 12th House Rock it became clear to me that RFC was the only label that made sense for us at the time. It was just a chill label that works hard and cares about their acts."
Ned: There's been a long-running link between Texas and Boston even if it's in somewhat different worlds, like Iron Age and Power Trip (and Skourge) doing records with Lockin Out. Do you feel like your relationship with the label is an extension of that, or something completely its own?
Jacob: I think its something completely on its own but at the same time it's probably somewhat of an extension of that because I pretty much met Greg lockin out through Riley Gale and Wade Allison and I met RFC crew through different sources. But looking back at it now it became a full circle moment because both projects were put on out Boston labels. So I definitely have mad love for boston family and I'm proud to be apart of the roster and legacy. I also where the lockin out logo like a badge of honor.
Jacob: I love that we have a mutual connection with Lockin Out, What does that label and logo mean to you?
Ned: Lockin Out was the first current thing I paid attention to that I really connected with. I got the second Mental 7” in 2004 and the label has been my favorite ever since. I’m not a particularly funny or stylish person but those bands made me want to be so bad. I talk to Greg just about every day now and I regularly tell him how important Lockin Out is to me. Sometimes I wonder if he thinks I’m just joking.
Jacob: I didn’t wanna get too personal in these questions, but I asked Shane about something crazy to ask you…Tell me about Stuart. Who was he? What’s his story? What happened to Stuart?
Ned: Stuart was this friend of ours when Ben and I were young, like elementary school. He had this really weird family and went to a different school, but he was always hanging around for what felt like days on end. One of the earliest things we recorded in our parents’ basement was his band Stuart and the No Pottymouths, and we went to this summer acting camp and Stuart somehow helped me land a role written specifically for me by a local actor who had been in some soap operas in a play for the Steamtown Trolley Museum. I don’t know what happened to him sadly, he just stopped showing up one day and we never really heard from him again.
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.
READ NOW: Rough Trade UK Q&A with label manager Tom Chiari