The first incarnation of Safety was formed when Andy Diaz (guitar &vocals) and Grayum Vickers (bass &vocals) were school boys back in Tampa, Florida. Now Brooklyn based, ‘Congratulate Me, I’ve Lost My Mind’ is the second EP the three-piece have recorded for Community Records and it falls somewhere between commercially sounding punk pop and moody epic rock, without really being either.

‘The Shadow Over Brooklyn’ jump starts with that familiar searing guitar sound but is both hooky and energetic, despite sounding rather crowded. It segues into ‘A Wealth of Sorrows in a Few Words’, which is also catchy, and although its mid tempo punk pop is nothing original it is well executed.

‘Final Cosmic Flash’ shows the band’s experimental side as they change the tempos and put in some interesting guitar work. However, it is all a bit disjointed with drums doing one thing while the rest of the band go somewhere else; it’s as if the band said “Right, slow moody rocker” but the drummer said “Fuck that, time to burn”.

‘Ultraviolet Light’ hints at the band’s potential with a moodier grunge sound; it’s a well thought out composition, albeit lyrically naive, that blossoms into an epic sounding balladic rocker. ‘Derealized’, however, is a fail on multiple levels; not only have we heard it all before but it is also caught out trying to be clever lyrically and totally not nailing it, I mean, how would one “derealize” something?

I guess what Safety have to offer here is potential; there are plenty of moments that prick up the ears, but unfortunately they are swimming amongst well worn licks so the end result lacks identity – good effort, but more work required.

3/5

‘Congratulate Me, I’ve Lost My Mind’ by Safety is out now on Community Records.

Safety links: Website|Facebook|Twitter

Words by Edward Layland (@EdwardLayland)