Beware of Safety CD Review

In the wake of quite possibly two of the best instrumental rock albums of the past decade, Beware of Safety’s debut EP It is Curtains does nothing to define itself. Maybe this album would be easier to swallow if it wasn’t released in the same calendar year as Explosions in the Sky’s near perfect All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone and Caspian’s breathtaking The Four Trees. Judged on its own, Curtains is a solid debut, no doubt. It just doesn’t measure up to some of its peers.

In all honesty, using those two bands as a reference point to begin a dissection of Beware of Safety’s It is Curtains really just isn’t fair. The LA-based quartet has far more in common with the likes of The Cancer Conspiracy or even Isis and Pelican.

“Weak Wrist” is Beware of Safety’s best effort, a powerful and angst filled explosion of noise and near-chaos, while “The Difference Between Wind & Rain” will have the same effect on most as those two elements – zzzzzzzzzz. But hey – that ain’t bad, so don’t read it as such.

Instrumental rock songs don’t have to be these slow and arduous expositions that start small and gently build into big rock anthems. (The flipside to this of course are the songs that just don’t go anywhere - up or down). And while it could be said that Beware of Safety have a firm grasp on the beauty of dynamics in songwriting … you kinda have to have that element down as an instrumental rock band ‘cause, well, that’s really all you’ve got going (except for Pelican… they somehow make instrumental rock work having a complete and total lack of dynamic sensibility).

One more thing instrumental bands (all of them) don’t have to do yet somehow find a way to do, is use the same trilled chorus pedal-effected guitar sound – you know, the one the accompanies the build-up on every Explosions in the Sky song! Beware of Safety does it. But so do Caspian and almost every other band in the same vein that I love. Is this a knock? Guess not. Maybe it is the only way to express dynamic emotion on a guitar. Maybe.

Attempting to revive listeners at a gradual pace following the slow hum of “Wind and Rain,” “O’Canada” drags on for six-plus minutes before slipping into the lengthy album closer “To the Roof! Let’s Jump and Fall.” More songs like this one would have made for a better album. The wandering, almost jam-like feel (which I’m sure was how it was written) suits this band perfectly and ultimately saves this album.