Portland's RAYON captures anxiety's frantic pulse on new 'Running' single & Citroen-laced video

January 14, 2026

Portland alt-rock / post-punk outfit Rayon present their latest single 'Running', a propulsive exploration of the anxiety that comes with watching loved ones struggle with cycles of addiction that they can't shake - and the sound of a tape echo that's about to stop working. Intentionally preserving the noise of pausing, rewinding, and fast-forwarding to heighten the song’s frantic pace, its sound can be considered a study in tension and tape, the video conveying a sense of lo-fi capers involving a Citroen Wagon.

Found on the flip side of the single 'Shopping / Running' (also available on 7" vinyl via Little Cloud Records), 'Running' is perhaps even more stunning than the whacky A-side 'Shopping', a tongue-in-cheek ode to consumerism and travel, written by someone who happens to travel and consume a bit.

Founded by long-time North Portland resident and Detroit-area native Eric Sabatino, Rayon now also involves members of other notable Portland bands - Sun Atoms, Yuvees, Pastilla and Martha Stax - namely Anna Sabatino, Riley McLaughlin, Eric Rubalcava and Derek Longoria-Gomez.

'Running' is based on a relentless bass and drum groove that lived in Sabatino's head for months before finally taking shape in the studio. To capture the song’s unsettled emotional landscape, the band leaned into the mechanical unpredictability of a dying Dynacord tape echo. By funneling guitars and vocals through the aging machine, they achieved a haunting, warped soundscape where the pitch and speed constantly bend and shift. Feeling as though it is physically straining under its own weight, this song mirrors the very themes of instability it describes.

"'Running' was built around a bass and drum groove I was kicking around in my head for months. The guitars and vocals are the sound of a tape echo called "dynacord" that's barely working, bending and moving the speed and pitch of everything we run through it. Those parts wouldn't have come out like that if I wasn't trying to write a guitar part while plugged into that machine." says Eric Sabatino.

The video for 'Running' offers a gritty, nostalgic look at the band’s world, captured entirely on a vintage Handycam, following the band in their meticulously restored Citroen wagon. Embracing the track's jerky energy, their journey concludes with a grainy, evocative sequence of freeway signs leading into Seattle—a slow-burn outro that grounds the video’s high-energy antics in a sense of place and movement.

"The video was shot on an old handycam camcorder we found in the back of a closet. The battery miraculously held a charge. It came with a tape of someone's school play, which we taped over (sorry to whoever's family that was). It features the Citroen wagon from the 'Shopping' video. I worked on that car for months. So glad it didn't break down during these two long video shoots," says Eric Sabatino.

"We drove around all day picking everyone up at their home, work, local bar, favorite little shop, and went to band practice. We filmed the antics and capers along the way. Sometimes we let friends and strangers hold the camera and film us. I transferred and edited it over 2 late nights, trying to capture as much pause, rewind, and fast-forward noise as I could, timing the cuts to capture the jerky energy of the song. I love the outro and the slow noisy shots of the freeway signs leading to Seattle."

In contrast, the video for 'Shopping' - filmed with their awesomely nostalgic Super 8 video - was born of near-burnout and a revitalizing trip south of the border, showcasing antics in several grocery stores there before eventually being kicked out.

Sabatino broke tradition with this release, deciding to mix the album together with famed recording engineer Larry Crane (Cat Power, Sleater-Kinney, The Decemberists, The Go-Betweens, Elliott Smith, Death Cab for Cutie) at Jackpot Recording and Timothy Stollenwerk (Yo La Tengo, Grouper, Morphine) at Stereophonic Mastering.

The 'Shopping / Running' single is out now, available both digitally and as a limited pressing of 150 blue transparent 7" record and 150 black 7" vinyl. It can be ordered in all formats via Bandcamp, with this snazzy vinyl also available via Little Cloud Records. This is the first in an exciting new series of similar records in the works for Rayon.

CREDITS
All songs written by Eric Sabatino
Recorded by Eric Sabatino in Rayon's garage on 16-track tape
Mixed by Eric Sabatino & Larry Crane at Jackpot! Recording
Mastered by Timothy Stollenwerk at Stereophonic Mastering
Eric Sabatino - guitar, bass & vocals
Eric Rubalcava - drums
Riley McLaughlin - guitar
Anna Sabatino - keys & vocals
Cover photo & layout by Eric Sabatino (photo of lamp lady shot on an Argus C3 with Cinestill 800t)
'Shopping' video shot on film (Super 8 Camera) & edited by Jeff Tuyay
'Running' video filmed on Hi8 handycam by Rayon & friends & edited by Rayon
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR

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Portland's Rayon unveils 'Shopping' single, a tongue-in-cheek ode to consumerism & survival

November 10, 2025

No-wave, angular post-punk outfit Rayon present their beautifully whacked-out single 'Shopping', a tongue-in-cheek ode to consumerism and travel born from near-burnout and a revitalizing trip south of the border. The video for 'Shopping', filmed with their awesomely nostalgic Super 8 video, showcases grocery store antics before being kicked out, proving that new life can always be found on aisle five.

Along with B-side 'Running', the single is available on 7" vinyl and as a two-track digital release via Little Cloud Records. This is the first in an exciting new series of similar records in the works for Rayon.

The project of long-time North Portland resident and Detroit-area native Eric Sabatino, Rayon now also involves members of Sun Atoms, Yuvees, Pastilla and Martha Stax - namely Anna Sabatino, Riley McLaughlin, Eric Rubalcava and Derek Longoria-Gomez. Recording on rainy weekends in a garage studio packed with old reel-to-reel tape machines, partially-functional tube amps, and leaky British motorcycles, these songs were recorded onto 16 tracks of 1/2” tape, while running the tracks through a slightly-wonky sounding tape echo.

Sabatino broke tradition with this release, deciding to mix it together with famed recording engineer Larry Crane (Cat Power, Sleater-Kinney, The Decemberists, The Go-Betweens, Elliott Smith, Death Cab for Cutie) at Jackpot Recording and Timothy Stollenwerk (Yo La Tengo, Grouper, Morphine) at Stereophonic Mastering.

"Doing everything on film and tape is a bit of a safety check-valve, to make sure we make everything like humans with no autotune, copy/paste or AI. I'm becoming an imperfectionist,” says Eric Sabatino.

“This was the first time we’ve engaged a "professional" to work on our recordings. The education we received was immense, and Larry was kind with his explanations of everything we had previously done "wrong" with our recordings, was willing to work with what we provided and willing to get weird with us."

Written in two parts, 'Shopping' is a tongue-in-cheek song about consumerism and travel, written by a person who travels and consumes quite a bit. 'Running' is an anxious song about the people you love and the addictions that they can't shake - and the sound of a tape echo that's about to stop working.

Rayon spent last winter honing these and other songs through a series of live shows, including an epic trip to Guadalajara, which served as creative fodder for the band's latest inspiration and re-invigoration.

"This EP almost didn’t happen. I nearly walked away from Rayon. The last record wasn’t selling, a lack of decent show offers, festival rejections and a general feeling of burnout was happening. Our second guitarist left, and then our drummer. The addition of guitarist Riley McLaughlin (from Yuvees and Club Deluxe) and Eric Rubalcava (drums) and Derek Longoria-Gomez (percussion and bass) from our "band-in-law" Sun Atoms brought new life and energy to the band," says Eric Sabatino.

"We played some of the first enjoyable shows in a few years, and a new energy emerged. We started functioning as a band, we traveled to Mexico, and came back to record these songs. And another record is in the works. As for the new video, we got kicked out of two grocery stores making it. The Mexican Tienda was cool as hell; they loved it. We shopped and goofed around in stores, drove the old car down to the park under the bridge and had a picnic. Jeff filmed it all on a cute old Super 8 camera."

Before forming Rayon, Eric Sabatino spent years playing with bands in Southern Michigan and Portland, sometimes with as many as six projects on the go at the same time. Self-described as “a guy who grew up on 80’s/90’s post punk and grunge trying to reconcile their love of R&B, Soul and 60’s British Pop”, Sabatino is now fully focused on this one project, built on the experience of years of writing, collaborating, studio work and touring with some of the Pacific Northwest’s hardest working bands.

'Shopping b/w Running' is out now digitally and available as a limited pressing of 150 blue transparent 7" record and 150 black 7" vinyl. It can be ordered in all formats via Bandcamp.

BLAME MY YOUTH Charges Into Heartbreak with New Single “RUNNING”

February 17, 2024

Los Angeles, CA – Breakout alt-rock sensations, Blame My Youth, are back today with the next step in their sonic evolution, in the shape of brand new single, “Running”. Co-written and produced with Joey Moi (Nickelback, HARDY, Morgan Wallen) and Julio Tavarez (Bob Moses), the new track arrives hot on the heels of previously released single,"The Break", which dominated editorial playlists across streaming platforms and hit the Alternative radio airwaves this week. The two tracks are now packaged together on streaming platforms and can be streamed HERE. Fans can watch the official music video for “The Break” HERE and watch the visualizer for "Running" below..

“Running” is a track that encapsulates the turmoil of self-inflicted heartbreak, underscored by the band's seamless blend of raw emotion and anthemic rock energy, demonstrating what you can expect from their debut album coming later this year. Speaking on the inspiration behind today’s new release, Blame My Youth frontman and songwriter, Sean Van Vleet shares,

“We wrote “Running” as a homage to the kinda heartbreak you do to yourself when you leave someone you know is way too good for you. They wanna stay, you wanna stay, but you fly too close to the fire lit by your own demons. I guess 'I stay running', to me, means you’re always chasing a feeling with someone rather than something real.”

After spending last year on the road with HARDY, 311, and AWOLNATION, Blame My Youth will be hitting the road this May for a string of dates across the US supporting Kid Kapichi. Beginning in Dallas, Texas on May 6th, the tour will hit a further 9 cities, including a show in the band’s hometown of Chicago on May 14th, before culminating in Washington DC on May 26th. Tickets for the tour are available now from www.blamemyyouth.com/shows

Blame My Youth

w/ Kid Kapichi

5/6/2024 - Dallas, TX HOB Dallas - Cambridge Room*

5/7/2024 - Austin, TX - Antone's Nightclub*

5/12/2024 - Nashville, TN - Exit/In*

5/14/2024 - Chicago, IL - Cobra Lounge*

5/15/2024 - Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line*

5/18/2024 - Cleveland, OH - HOB Cleveland - Cambridge Room*

5/19/2024 - Ferndale, MI - The Loving Touch*

5/20/2024 - Toronto, ON - Velvet Underground*

5/22/2024 - New York City, NY - The Mercury Lounge*

5/23/2024 - Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall*

5/26/2024 - Washington, D.C - Union Stage*

About Blame My Youth:

Lightning rarely strikes the same place twice, especially in the music industry. There are exceptions, though, and Sean Van Vleet is one of them. He formed Blame My Youth in 2020—a move that was solidified when the band’s first single “ Right Where You Belong” was selected as the closing credits theme on the GRAMMY-nominated soundtrack of Bill & Ted Face the Music .

As if that wasn’t impressive enough, follow-up single “Fantastic” picked up millions of streams and hit the Top 30 on the Active Rock radio charts. Their 2023 single “Prizefighter” rode high on US Alternative radio and their most recent single, “The Break” officially hit the airwaves earlier this week. It’s an incredible start that demonstrates just how well Van Vleet’s songs connect with people.

That all came after a prolonged period when, following the demise of his previous band Empires, Van Vleet was writing a lot for other artists (All Time Low , Oliver Tree, PVRIS)—as well as over 200 songs in TV shows, high profile ad campaigns and video games—but rarely for himself. That changed when he began working closely with Billboard Top 100 Producer of 2023 (and Big Loud Rock co-founder) Joey Moi. Whereas before their working relationship was divided strictly between songwriter (Van Vleet) and producer (Moi), in the studio one day the pair inadvertently began writing together and realized how much they loved the process. The result was “The Break ”—the first of a number of songs Van Vleet and Moi have written together. Though infectious and upbeat, it’s also much more vulnerable and heart-torn than anything he’s ever made before, and signifies the start of what Van Vleet considers a brand new chapter for Blame My Youth.

With 18 million cross-catalog streams and 9 million YouTube views to date and a debut album on the way later this year, it’s only going to get better and bigger for Blame My Youth from here.