“
…this is about as far away from a U2 or Coldplay album as you can get.
”
“
…this is about as far away from a U2 or Coldplay album as you can get.
”
The opening song’s called Love Connection, pt II. Which is nice. Christmas bells come a chiming in. You feel instantly relaxed. A buzzing noise appears, waking up the drummer who tip tip taps out a beat and then a boy with a nasal whine opens his mouth.
“There’s blood between my legs.”
If you’re going to paint a picture with your opening line, you may as well make it a graphic one. Safe As Houses this record may be called, but it is anything but a safe record. In fact, this is about as far away from a U2 or Coldplay album as you can get. If the first line sets the scene then the third line drives the point right home. “You’re salty to the taste and if I squint just right I can see his face.” Subtle this isn’t. Good it very much is.
Now then, if this doesn’t sound like your type of thing you’d best click back on your browser and get out of here now.
“Soiled, my jeans lie in heaps beneath me.”
Run along now.
“Blood marrs the sheets and they stain so easy.”
I did warn you.
“Swollen wrists, knees and you swell inside me.”
Still here? Good. If you’ve survived this far you’re in for a treat. Brutally honest, upfront and totally captivating, Safe As Houses is an insane marvel of an album. It’s not just the honesty and bluntness of the lyrics that’s appealing, there’s so much variety and experimentation in the music of each and every song on this album that it just has to be commended.
Let me get this straight, there isn’t a hit single on here. This is not immediate. It’s not poppy. It’s not even anthemic. In fact, the second track sounds like somebody visiting the dentist whilst R2D2 has a complete meltdown in the background and yet it works because it feels right. It sounds like the hangover from hell but it feels warranted. Elsewhere there are glockenspiels (Oh yes), hand bells, the occasional woodwind instrument and at one point I swear a kazoo is involved in proceedings. Like I said, this is commendable stuff.
Safe As Houses sounds more like a performance piece than a rock and roll album. The band describe themselves as a punk rock band, but there’s more going on here than just a few badly played chords and some high tempo drum beats. This is far more cultured than that.It feels more like a piece of art than a piece of fun. It should be performed in rooms filled with naked statues and giant frescos instead of dingy rock clubs. It should be enjoyed by all of you looking for something new, something fresh and something completely different to what else is out there at the moment. Tales of love and sorrow were never described like this when I was a lad, but if you can open your mind a little, you’ll find something very rewarding here. If a little graphic. Great stuff.
Words: Damian Leslie