Runnin’ & Runnin’ (feat. cwondo)

Release date: Oct. 28, 2026

Genre: Indie Pop

Label: Independent

jolae released her debut album, Vomit to the Sky, on Oct.28, 2026. She was influenced by Sweet Trip and Air by the way they blend electronic sounds with alternative rock. For this closing track, Runnin’ & Runnin, she worked with Cwondo, the solo project of Taisei Kondo, lead singer and guitarist for the Japanese band No Buses. Kondo arranged and produced the track and played guitar on it.

For this song, jolae describes thinking of someone again just before falling asleep. The connection between humans is so complicated. This time she realizes she can live without knowing whether they stayed or left. She opens this song with one “if” after another. By the end, she knows she might fall and saw the way, but she chose to run and run to fight; even if it’s an endless fight, she will be there anyway.

The whole production gives the song a botanical-influenced style. The guitar tone is so warm, and some of the phrases are really playful. One pops up on the left, then the next comes in on the right. jolae’s vocals are layered as well. With different samples and bits of humming in and out around her lead vocal, I never quite know what I’m going to hear next.

Near the end, the words “moody, dead/nerdy, dead” return from the album’s second track, “(#K▼皿▼MS!!!!).” This time, the voice comes through without the distortion. Could she be running toward whatever comes next?

Some of the songs on this album feel a little sad, and darker thoughts keep coming back in, which is totally why I love that jolae closes with Runnin’ & Runnin’. There’s something hopeful about hearing her keep going, and I’m already looking forward to her next album.