A few days before indie-pop singer-songwriter Michael Flynn performed in the 2021 NewSong Music Songwriting Competition finals, he learned that his father had mere months to live. Flynn dearly wanted to win the competition so that he could share some good news with his dad — and that’s exactly what happened.
As part of his grand prize, Flynn (known musically as Slow Runner) was invited to record an album at Citizen Studios, resulting in the deftly crafted, emotional, and ultimately hope-infused Yesterday Don’t Fail Me Now, set for release on the NewSong Recordings label on all streaming platforms on October 11, 2024. (Click here to pre-order.)
An album release show will take place at Citizen Vinyl in Asheville, NC — where the record was recorded and pressed — also on October 11. Show info here.
The first single, “Skull of Mary Magdalene,” is out today on all streaming platforms. The track premiered in SceneSC. Click below to watch the lyric video.
Despite being mostly written during the five month period that Flynn’s father lived with (and died from) inoperable pancreatic cancer, the songs on YDFMN are only occasionally explicit in their funereal inspiration. While soaking up time with and helping to care for his dad, “There was a lot of time for thinking about weighty things, death and time and love that pushes up against the limits of reality,” Flynn says. “And there was a lot of time for writing, going over lyrics in my head or picking out melodies on the old upright piano I learned to play on as a boy.”
YDFMN is a collection of pop songs that touch on feelings that transcend any specific loss, Flynn says. “Everybody has something they dread facing, or something they wish for, despite long odds, or someone they want to splash in a fountain with.”
“Die Running” is a synth-pop romp about living fully until your last breath and appreciating the kind of romantic love that can single handedly make a bleak world feel beautiful. “Farthest Star” is a Jayhawks-meets-Beach Boys pop song about hoping for a reasonable bare minimum dream to come true. “Skull of Mary Magdalene” is a dancey pop song about ignoring things like history and legacy and just enjoying the moment. And the title track is lofi synth-pop instrumental incorporating themes and instruments from other songs on the album.
Slow Runner is the creation of Michael Flynn, an Americana-adjacent singer-songwriter based in Western North Carolina. His songs have been featured on shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Shameless, and on commercials for useful products like cars and shampoo. He’s also won a few awards for songwriting, most recently the 2021 Newsong Music Grand Prize. After a few years performing under his own name, Michael signed a record deal with SonyBMG in 2006 and began releasing music as Slow Runner in a collaboration with producer/multi-instrumentalist Josh Kaler and other musical friends. Slow Runner has spawned five full-length albums among other EPs and singles, and has toured internationally with acts such as The Avett Brothers, Josh Ritter, Built to Spill, William Fitzsimmons, and many others.
After a series of releases under his own name, including 2022’s sparse, pastoral EP endlings, Michael is returning to the Slow Runner moniker and continuing his exploration into eclectic pop subgenres that range from dreamy synth pop to confessional folk, stopping at every point of interest in between. Called “A pioneering solo artist” by American Songwriter, with “Songs as catchy as they are clever” (Relix), Slow Runner continues as a standout writer and performer still evolving nearly two decades into a fruitful career.
