Run Remedy

Manchester-based American artist Run Remedy (Robin Koob) has announced that her debut album, Xtian Skate Night, is set for release on June 20th. A fearless deep dive into identity, loss, and self-acceptance, the album fuses confessional lyricism with intricate arrangements, blending melancholic folk elements with atmospheric indie rock and experimental textures. Alongside the album announcement, Run Remedy unveils her haunting new single, ‘Unwaltz’ - a lush and layered track that encapsulates the tension of hiding one's truth while yearning for freedom.

Raised in a strict Christian household in suburban New Jersey, Koob’s journey toward self-acceptance has been anything but linear. Xtian Skate Night is an autobiographical soundtrack to her teen years - navigating queerness in a deeply religious world, reckoning with loss, and ultimately finding the strength to embrace her true self.

“Sadly, I lost my mom to cancer in 2021 after a 15 year fight. I helped look after her in her last months and we made peace with a lot. She encouraged me to ‘stop just playing everyone else’s music’ and do my own, even if it meant diving into some of the harder stuff.

I started writing the songs during the long nights of her illness, laughing and reflecting with her about those days, listening to American Classic rock radio stations and Joni Mitchell. When she died, I came back to England and started doing anything I could to get through it.”

The album title is a nod to Koob’s adolescent experiences at a local Christian roller-skating night where she first realised her feelings for another girl, an exhilarating yet terrifying moment given her upbringing. “It was not cool to be queer in that place at that time, at all, and both my parents were pastors of their own churches…yikes,” shares Koob.

The new single, ‘Unwaltz’, stands as one of the album’s most emotionally charged moments - a song of internal conflict and suppressed love, cloaked in hypnotic strings and dreamlike vocals. “In the story of the album, this is my 'trapped' song - the perfect girl, the preacher’s daughter…hiding my internal life,” Koob explains. “The vocals are close and super layered. Lots of whisper tracks as I beg my unnamed love to find the truth by ‘eavesdropping in on my heart.’”

Recorded live with just six channels, ‘Unwaltz’ captures the raw energy of a single moment, with contributions from Rhys Jiang (drums), James Cooke (electric guitar), George Burrage (bass), and Koob herself on nylon guitar, vocals, and strings layered. The song’s eerie production nods to David Lynch, a longtime influence of Koob’s - coincidentally, she filmed the Unwaltz video on the day Lynch passed away.

The video, a one-take performance played in reverse, visually embodies the song’s unsettling beauty. In front of a skate-adorned cross, wearing a Laura Palmer tiara, Koob moves through a surreal, trance-like sequence of self-doubt, rebellion, and catharsis, capturing the creeping discomfort of being trapped in an identity that doesn’t fit.

Musically, Xtian Skate Night reflects Koob’s love of Elliott Smith, Joni Mitchell, and Sufjan Stevens and marks a leap from her earlier work, embracing a maximalist yet dynamic approach to production. “I’m trying something new with each track. Some, like ‘Unwaltz,’ were recorded live with minimal takes, while others are stacked with synthetic and organic layers,” Koob shares. “I’m sensory-sensitive (ASMR junkie), so I use a lot of lo-fi elements - voice notes, field recordings, harmonies sung through a set of headphones, ribbon mics, lap pats, and human laughter.”

With Xtian Skate Night, Run Remedy crafts an unflinching, deeply personal debut album that challenges and comforts in equal measure. Her evocative storytelling and willingness to push sonic boundaries have cemented her as a rising force in the indie music scene.