Runners in the Nerved World

For their first record on Epitaph, this Cleveland, Ohio, band has teamed with producer Phil Ek. The pairing makes perfect sense considering the group's sound hearkens back to the widescreen indie rock of Built to Spill, the Shins, and Band of Horses.

With 2015's Runners in the Nerved World, the Sidekicks' metamorphosis from upstart punk rockers to considerably more restrained indie rockers is complete; while this band never exactly came off like jackbooted hardcore demons, Runners is the sound of a band that's learned to smooth down their edges, clean up the grit in their guitars, and refine their melodies into a sound that's considerably less aggressive and more artful than where they started.