ARTIST: Beware of Safety
TITLE: It Is Curtains
LABEL: Self Released
GENRE: Instrumental Rock
BITRATE: 199kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 0h 37m total
RELEASE DATE: 2007-01-30
RIP DATE: 2007-02-02
Track List
----------
1. Kaura 5:19
2. Weak Wrists 6:56
3. The Difference Between Wind And 6:25
Rain
4. Veneklasen 2:20
5. O'Canada 6:26
6. To The Roof! Let's Jump And 10:24
Fall
Release Notes:
After the success of second-generation "post-rock" bands in the United States in
2005, there was a noticable increase of new bands forming and putting out debut
cds in 2006. While some of these bands were undoubtedly successful, many of them
would have benefited from taking a little bit of time to rework the newly
birthed material and iron out the weak spots. Beware of Safety could have easily
been one of these bands who were quick out of the gates and made an impressive
start, even though eventually they ran out of steam on the very lengthy course.
However, Beware of Safety is not one of those bands. It is important to note
that three of the members are in their late twenties, with the forth member
member sliding in at 23. This is not the (what is now becoming classic) example
of college kids coming together in a session of pedal worship. A few years of
experience can make all the difference, and in Beware of Safety's case, the
decision to not join the bandwagon in 2006 has caught them in the limelight as
the rest of the scene takes a breather after an exhaustive year.
Many will be quick to write off Beware of Safety as yet another Explosions in
the Sky and/or Mogwai clone. But, let's try to get past that for once in our
lives. Let's, for the sake of argument, pretend that these effects existed long
before those bands were ever created and that other individuals are capable of
using these effects without being so easily written off. Let us also actually
delve deeply into It is Curtains and not just browse the tracks, commenting on
how they're probably quiet/loud songs with reverb effects, and this equates to
the band being unoriginal. With all of this in mind, we push forward.
Now let me be completely contradictory and draw two comparisons to this band,
those being of Caspian and This Will Destroy You. The first is not difficult to
believe; Beware of Safety is a band that has played with Caspian several times,
and will accompany them on the West Coast leg of its April/May tour. The latter
is a bit more mysterious. While I don't doubt that the act is aware of the Texan
quartet's presence, it would strike me as odd that they would consciously draw
upon them as a source of influence; believing otherwise, in my humble opinion,
would be wishful thinking. Instead, the comparison is drawn from the band's
desire to still maintain somewhat planted in the traditional post-rock sound of
"brooding compositions with epic, crushing finales," even if it is by just the
skin of a pinkey toe. It is Curtains pays homage to those who came before, while
still exploring some new worlds, which is really the ideal goal of any debut
release.
In my eyes, the validity of the newer generation of bands rest largely in the
shift of focus on emotional content to that of physical substance. Let's be
honest, Explosions of the Sky is basically the fluffy emo band of "post-rock,"
and the sea of wannabes follow directly in those footsteps in the art of,
primarily, creating emotions. Although there were certainly instrumental acts
who had always strayed from this categorization, it wasn't until The Fall of
Math that a large amount of listeners were drawn to something that so blatantly
disregarded emotion (and, somewhat ironically, the band begins to fuse it back
in with One Time for All Time, albeit in a highly artificial manner). Enter
2005. Caspian's accomplishment was to bring this movement stateside, drawing
largely from oceanic resources, and bringing the essence of New England life to
the world at large. "Quovis - Futher In - Further Up" does well to mimic the
subtle power of the ocean -- from its surging waves to the forceful
undercurrent, and future compositions further this ideology. Beware of Safety
displays the western side of life, that of living in the infinitely frustrating
and increasingly artificial City of Angels. And thus the stage is set for the
narrative.
With the motivation of the EP properly contextualized, It is Curtains unfolds
with a mechanical like precision, carving a deep path which is then later
revisited and filled in with emotional content. The band follows the thinking
that if you can play a six-song set in half an hour, people might not consider
you to be a pretentious post-rock band. Maybe. The six tracks on the EP follow a
consistent narrative while still showing the quartet's diversity. "Kaura" begins
the disc with twinkling guitars and hollowed distortions, barely increasing
intensity as the track progresses, and just when it begins to gather momentum it
fades out (cue the frustration). "Weak Wrists" is where the band begins to
distance itself from the pack. The track breaks itself into two, presenting
broad swipes of guitar and pummeling drums. The first climax is led into as we'd
expect, and the second is thrown at us rather quickly, though not awkwardly. The
surprise comes with the third explosion, which appears out of thin air
(literally, silence) and blindsides the listener. At this point in time we're
beginning to understand why exactly it is we should beware of "safety." The
third track returns again to twinkling guitars and simple melodies, a welcome
respite after "Weak Wrists."
If the cd continued on like this we'd pat Beware of Safety on the back and tell
them they had done a good job, but this is just the appetizer to the main
course. "Veneklasen" is a short interlude that resets the palette for the real
show. "O'Canada," in its own right, is the standout track of the cd. I've got a
strange curiosity for start/stop tracks, those which continually abort and
regain momentum, and this is the best I've heard in years. I'm not quite sure
what the Canadian reference is to, as no Canadian band that I know has the guts
to pull this off, but maybe they've sneaked a peak at the new destroyalldreamers
cd. This leads us straight to the behemoth, "To the roof! Let's Jump and
Fall..." For the most part, this is a typical 10+ minute quiet/loud post-rock
song. It's probably essential that every band have one in its resume, and Beware
of Safety has done its homework on this one. Had this come out five years ago
we'd be heralding them as the champions of post-rock, the titans who created the
infamous wall of sound, but today we'll settle for it just being a bloody good
track. The highlight of the track for me is the denouement. Right after the
climax the songs begins to unwind and fade out with the guitar outro,
ever...so...slowly. Then at the 8:05 mark the momentum begins to rebuild.
Typically, we'd expect some distortion effects to sweep us home, ala Mogwai, but
this is different. The last two minutes are very focused and controlled,
exhibiting a deliberate restraint -- one which suggests that this is just the
beginning. Because, yes, if we return to our narrative, life in LA never stops.
Our hats go off to Beware of Safety. In a year that will inevitably be marked
with so many fine instrumental releases, they have managed to make their mark on
2007 by placing an early bid. Time shall tell what the future holds for them.
This fine release hits the market just a week before the Colts will defeat the
Bears in Super Bowl XLI. As the band members are huge Patriot fans, they are in
mourning over the AFC loss to the Colts, and you should do all you can to cheer
them up. Why not buy a copy of It Is Curtains?