The other day, I found a copy of the Reports' debut EP at a used CD store for one dollar. That I had to ponder the purchase for a while indicates how much I dislike "This Is Computer," an ambitious but awful new-wavey synth ballad on the otherwise near-perfect Run Into The Night. I wasn't sure whether it was an experiment for the future or a flashback from the past, and I dreaded the idea of hearing this trio Casio their material at a schlocky pace.

Happily, in each of the nine fast songs on Run Into The Night, the Reports pound out strong, emotional rock filled with hooks galore and choruses generally planted in regular events, like "coming home to my girlfriend" or feeling good about oneself in a "turtleneck sweater". On occasion, the songs are funny (as in "Hesitation", about a notoriously loose woman who declines to bed the singer) or tough (as with "Naked," my personal favorite). Primarily, though, the Reports project their intensity through songs suggesting a contentedness that one would frankly expect from young guys living out their dreams so early in life. For example, even when Chris Yambor sings about "dancing the night away" in the throes of love, it's done with a sense that the love might slip away at the end of the song.

When they are within their element, as in all of their great rock songs, the Reports are a band to be truly excited about. Songs are played with rigorous and precise abandon, and often feature the "sparring" voices of Chris and bassist Mark Dunston, heightening the emotion of each song.

Slow the Reports down, though, and you have a fully deserving bargain-bin band. Luckily, they only do it twice on Run Into The Night, which means 9 of the 11 songs are practically essential. As for the other slow track besides the computer crap, "You've Got A Long Way To Go" carries nearly the same melody and subject matter as the Replacements' "Talent Show". It's just different enough to be bad, not good, and would have been greatly improved had they sped it up near the song's conclusion. All in all, though, this is one hell of a fine rock album, and an amazing follow-up to their earlier EP (which, sadly for me, turned out to be more like "This Is Computer").