Isaac Lee-Kronick appears with an intelligent, contagious alt-pop debut “Running Man”

16 February 2016, 09:45 | Written by George O'Brien

(Tracks)

(Isaac Lee-Kronick)

Having reached the final of last year’s Glastonbury Emerging Talent, a competition which crowned the increasingly buzzy Declan Mckenna its winner, Isaac Lee-Kronick went a bit quiet. He has re-emerged, however, and his break appears to have been time very well spent.

“Running Man” now stands alone as the first piece of new material from the talented young Londoner. An almost six-minute piece of intelligent, contagious alt-pop that nods to the likes of Jungle (see the twitching, bongo-clad intro and use of crackling vocal samples) and the catching, falsetto vocal work of Will Joseph Cook.

And it’s an impressive showcase of what’s to come from Lee-Kronick, as his warm, languid vocal pours over busy layers of production that build with an appropriate drum-rolling snare towards the gently moreish refrain: “running man, you look a bit tired/give it a rest, it ain’t no big deal” he croons, hinting at the draining rat-race world we inhabit.

An elegant, revolving outro then cascades away completing this debut proper with an assured, satisfying resolution. It ensures Lee-Kronick is a new name running effortlessly in the right direction.