Runners

Description

Some things in life are made to be savored fully: it is in this pantheon of unique experiences that Runners fits, the second album by the London instrumental rock quartet Dog Unit. Following At Home, their cult debut album from 2024, Runners unfolds fluidly over its 42 minutes. It features the quartet — made up of Sam Walton, Henry Scowcroft, James Weaver and Lucy Jamieson — creating undulating, swirling, nostalgia-laden pieces in service of a greater ambition, exploring the fertile ground of sonic storytelling. Recorded during the first four months of 2026 in the band’s studio in Limehouse, in east London, Runners reveals the band’s core lineup, joined by producer and longtime collaborator Mark Estall, unfolding with unprecedented ambition and scope. This time, they commissioned a string quartet especially for this project and once again called on the renowned experimental bass clarinetist Heather Roche. The band’s music is often compared to cinema, and if At Home was a charming micro-budget independent film brimming with potential, Runners is a grand achievement that rewards repeated viewings.