My Inspiration: Polyvinyl – Running From Home

Newcastle-based alt-indie outfit Polyvinyl drop their newest single, Running From Home. It’s the first single taken from their second EP Where It Ends, which is set to be released this Summer, and is produced by Lisa Murphy (Melanie Baker, Lizzie Esau), mixed by Paul Gregory (Lanterns on the Lake, Mercury Prize Nominee), and mastered by Katie Tavini (Bloc Party, We Are Scientists).

Running From Home is a nostalgic, 80s‑inspired offering that explores reflection and resilience after a period of trauma. Sonically, bold beats, tender guitar and soaring synths create a textured soundscape that springs to life in a massive earworm chorus built to light up any dancefloor.

Here, Jamie Round tells us more about the inspirations behind the track…

Running From Home was the first time I truly wrote lyrics about my own life, and because of that, they became some of the strongest I’d ever brought to the rest of the band. 

Since we started the band, we always intended to have a retro/80s/new-wave sound, but due to how we write collaboratively it meant there were two main angles: poppier (It’s Raining Somewhere Else), and rockier (Nirvana Now). After releasing “Closure” (our first EP), we were given some great feedback by Mick Ross from Generator about having a cohesive sound, and decided that our second EP should be more unified, almost as a mix of those two sounds.

When I listen to music, the instrumentation has to grab me before I pay attention to the lyrics. We’ve always written that way too; usually starting with the structure and instrumental based on an idea someone has brought forward, then adding lyrics to fit the feel of the song. Running From Home was one of our first songs after deciding to sound more cohesive, which meant that once the chords were presented, the 80s-style big chorus, simpler rhythm section, and arpeggiated guitar parts appeared immediately. 

When we got to the stage of adding vocals, the improvised line “Run Away No More” really stuck out to me. It sounded like someone deciding enough was enough, and wanting to face their problem head on. I knew I wanted to write the lyrics for this one, and use the feeling of a safe space becoming the one place you don’t want to be. That triggered a memory for me: being a kid, sitting on the stairs with my sister, listening while our parents were arguing in the kitchen with the door shut (“hushed tones and whispers can’t stop my ear pressed to the door”).

I’m not a very open person, so writing about something so personal felt like too much for me, especially since I would usually write from outside a situation. So to make it easier, I wrote from my sister’s perspective, since we had been through the same things together. Being a female-fronted band helped too, as I could use she/her, and it gave me just enough distance to be honest without feeling exposed.

Over time, “Run Away No More” became “Run Away From Home”, changing the meaning from wanting to face a problem, to wanting to escape the situation – but I didn’t want this to be the message of the song. I made sure to write the chorus in past tense, while the verses are in the present, which made the whole song more about looking back on a situation you were in, and finding it almost unbelievable how far things have come – which is sort of what I was doing by writing it too. I didn’t like “Run Away From Home” as a title though, as it felt too direct, almost as if that was the answer, when really it was more about expressing how it felt in the past, so I changed it to “Running From Home” (present tense), to mark the difference. 

In the bridge, the line “why are the worst times the ones that I remember? Just wanna be there for myself” is repeated. I used the line “all these surreal things and sudden decisions, just wanna waste my time with you” from Leave It In My Dreams by The Voidz as a placeholder, as I liked the feel of the line, but not the meaning. I was originally going to write a second line, but I realised the double meaning of “be there” made sense for it to be sung twice, and stronger the second time (to “be there for” as in looking after yourself, but also just physically “being there” to do it over again with the mind you have now).

I took the draft to John, our bassist, and we finished the lyrics together. He said it was too dark (and to be fair, it was), so we switched some perspectives around, and changed a few words.

We had the song for around a year before we recorded it, and over that time the instrumental and delivery developed a lot. We kept the idea of the 80s influence, and knew it needed a big synth presence throughout, but especially in the instrumental and choruses. That’s what led to the song becoming as massive-sounding as it is now, and something we are just so proud to finally release.

It’s a song that we knew needed to be the lead single of our second EP, and the perfect one to kickstart a new era of Polyvinyl.