SideOneDummy are known for releasing music from and working with some of the best bands, such as Superheaven and Title Fight, so it’s fair to say Safe To Say are in good hands – and they have earned it. Their latest EP, ‘Hiding Games’ is the follow up to their brilliant debut full-length ‘With Everything In Between’ released over 2 years ago and definitely exceeds their previous efforts.
Opener to ‘Hiding Games’, ‘Summer Sickness’ has been streaming ahead of the EP’s release – and has deservedly had a great reaction. It begins soft and solemn with a guitar riffs and vocals full of emotion, before exploding into a loud, angry yet refined punk song. Each member of Safe To Say shines on this song but ultimately, they come together to form a strong and unique band with a brilliant ability to write punchy, catchy and passionate music. This song alone sets them up as one of most exciting upcoming bands of 2015, don’t sleep on it.
‘Bracelets’ continues with the angry punk rock vibes, with vocals that sound like they’re shouted through a megaphone and eruptions of riffs and fast drums. The mixture and layering of singing and shouting within this song works brilliant to create depth and makes it almost impossible to not sing along at at least some point, especially with the inclusion of delicate ‘ooo’s’. The song fades to a quiet, reverb drenched riff that sounds reversed and suddenly ends, leaving you in suspense before the next song starts. ‘When I’m Not Here’ may be the most alt rock/punk track on ‘Hiding Games’ with the most surprising twist in the middle. The ferocious track mellows down to soft vocals and a quiet acoustic guitar before bursting back into the sound that Safe To Say have nailed throughout this EP; roaring, intense and brilliant.
When Safe To Say show their softer, pop-punk influenced side on track ‘Zoey’, it proves that these 4 musicians really could write any style of punk they wanted. This song is by far the most lighthearted and fun on ‘Hiding Games’ and takes a step back from the serious and emotional side Safe To Say wear on their sleeve, but retains the gritty edge and memorable melodies the band are great at creating. Similarly, ‘Lull (Heaven Knows)’ has another surprising introduction from what seems to be an old vocal sample, before a quiet guitar intro. This song remains calm throughout and slowly builds, yet again showing another side of Safe To Say and their ability to write variations of their sound whilst not losing who they are. It doesn’t feel like they wrote a ‘slow song’ for the sake of it either, this song feels sincere and very honest.
‘Near Enough’ finishes the EP the way it began – with a bang. Opening with a shouted “HEY” sets the tone for the rest of the song and the guitar riff even follows this melody, making you want to shout every time you hear it. Ending the song with distant vocals of a group of young singers give the song a big band feel of bands a lot bigger than the level Safe To Say are at right now. The band are definitely ahead of themselves with this EP and hopefully it gives them the recognition they deserve.
‘Hiding Games’ could easily be one of the best releases of 2015, full of slightly different tracks such as ‘Zoey’, bangers like ‘Summer Sickness’ and overall riffy, gritty, grungy, punk tracks full of enthusiasm, energy and a great spirit.
OLIVIA DYTOR