It was two years plus waiting for new material by these post-rock heavyweights and these two songs make it all worthwhile. Bonus points for the nice packaging.
Rating: 
Giants/Beware of Safety – Split 7″
The Mylene Sheath
Both Giants and Beware of Safety have put out some amazing records on The Mylene Sheath. The label has mostly stuck to releasing 12″ vinyl but now they venture off into somewhat new territory for themselves by releasing this split 7″ by two bands that have been with the label since its inception.
Giants chime in with “With Chhakotay at the Helm…” which is an instrumental post-rock number that features a lot of guitar noodling with intricate guitar lines and leads. It’s a mostly mid-tempo that will build up to layered walls of sound that form a sort of occasional chorus. There’s a lot of cool drum fills throughout the entire song and I found myself focusing on different instruments with each repeated listen to sort of dissect what was going on with each one. The song is quite complex and a very solid song from an already great band.
Beware of Safety contribute, “Cut Into Stars” for their side of this single. They start with slow ambiance and a sort of funky bass line. The song has a very slow build that methodically adds new elements to the song. Each new element becomes the focus of the song and when the fuzzed out guitar and melodic lead kick in, the song becomes something rather magical and completely satisfying. They slow the pace back down again for a peaceful conclusion just in time to catch your breath and get up and play the song again. It’s a great companion to the first side and these two bands fit nicely together sharing sides of a single.
The record is a limited edition of 500 copies that was divided over three different colors of vinyl. The sleeves are hand numbered and the paper color of the sleeve matches the vinyl. The sleeve itself is a single piece of card stock that is silk screened with the artwork on the front side and rubber stamped on the back. It is a simplistic package that with the appearance of the images makes the record look almost antique and classic. It compliments the music nicely.
The two years plus it took for new material from these bands was well worth the wait and this 7″ is a must-have for any fan of these bands and their label and is also a good point of entry for those curious about the genre.
