After releasing the hit single ‘Mad Over You’, Runtown would continue to follow the pop template that combines percussion, strings, and mid-tempo flow in his subsequent releases.
This desire to walk a sonic path is a recurring theme in Runtown’s career and while it might not in itself constitute a problem when sustained a good run, it becomes a problem when the sound has peaked.
For his fourth album ‘Signs’ Runtown boldly ignores the dominant elements of mainstream Nigerian music while adopting a Dancehall rhythm as he slouches across different topics.
Having not put out music for over a year, Runtown’s decision to increase value through scarcity appeared to have achieved the desired result as fans were practically begging that he put out new music.
When he did announce that he had a new album on the way, the buzz the news generated showed how he had the listeners eagerly waiting. However, the lead-up single ‘Things I Know’ was met with a disappointing reception as it didn’t satisfy the feverish hunger of an eagerly waiting audience.
‘Signs’ delivers 13 tracks that flatline across the album and perhaps only jerk into life in Mr. Hudson‘s assisted ‘Dangerous Hearts’ where the retro jazz provides a cinematic feel.
Topically, the album doesn’t retain a dominant theme as Runtown casually discusses love, desire, and success. Although it offers sonic coherence in its adoption of Dancehall, it walks a linear path that makes it almost monotonous.
Runtown settles into the Caribbean element in the opening track where he flows in reggae style while not delivering the patois to compliment the beat and this is what makes him different from a Dancehall artist.
He samples Nina Simone in ‘Sinnerman’ where he admits to his shortcomings as a sinner who has eyes for the beautiful things in life. He flows in Dancehall style on a beat propelled by drums.
He fails to switch up his style across the first five tracks as he lays the same melody using a similar Dancehall flow. And when he switches it up on ‘O Fe Pami’ the chorus allows the songs to offer a refreshing feel painfully lacking in the preceding tracks.
The Dancehall frame of mind which drives the album is on full display in ‘Fences’ where he talks about touching down Kingston the capital of Jamaica which is the home of Dancehall. While the idea to deliver a smooth hybrid of Dancehall and Pop for an intercontinental sound works, the executions leave a lot to be desired. There’s little wonder why the best track on the album is when he steps away from Dancehall to Jazz in ‘Dangerous Hearts’ where his mid-tempo rhythms combine perfectly with the Jazz synths.
The album basic flatlines after ‘Dangerous Hearts’ as Runtown returns to similar Dancehall flows and not even his attempt at gleaning from Afrobeat in ‘Propaganda’ could save the project from its monotony.
The project comes across as uninspired as the melodies are bland and the contents are mostly banal with the production walking the same path as the artists with none outdoing the other.
While listeners might be able to find two or three tracks they enjoy for ‘Signs’, they will struggle to derive a wholesome listening experience from the project.
While artists like to clutch to their style as it is a marker of their uniqueness, they must know when to switch it up, especially when it has run its course.
Runtown’s decision to shun Afrobeats mainstream elements in 2022 without also switching up his style to offer a refreshing sound makes ‘Signs’ an uninspiring project.
The production allows him to stay in familiar territory as it offers no cutting edge or refreshing feel except for the stupendous ‘Dangerous Hearts’.
Overall ‘Signs’ lacks the quality needed to satisfy the cravings of expectant listeners and the fact that it’s quintessentially Runtown doesn’t make it any less tedious.
It’s time for the Soundgod to switch it up.
Songwriting, Themes, and Delivery: 1.4/2
Enjoyability and Satisfaction: 1.3/2
