It was a long time coming but it was worth the two year wait for Leaves/Scars is even more diverse and layered than the band’s previous (and excellent) output. A must-own for post-rock fans!
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Beware of Safety – Leaves/Scars – LP
The Mylene Sheath
Beware of Safety was one of the first bands on The Mylene Sheath and while they may be slightly less prolific than some of their label mates, each time they release something it ends up being well worth the wait. It was two years between their last album, Dogs, and this new one, Leaves/Scars, but that time was well spent crafting some really complex and varied songs.
Beware of Safety is an instrumental post-rock band. Without vocals, these types of bands are complex by nature as the instruments do all the “talking” so to speak, and these bands produce some amazing, textured music that takes a lot of listens to fully digest just how much is going on in any given song. The album starts off with “Meridan”, which is builds into one of their most intense songs yet and even includes a very bit of screaming vocal which is buried low in the mix as the songs reaches its apex. From there however the band gets more experimental than on previous works and the songs are richly textured and feature a lot more quieter passages which at time hearkens to the instrumental portions of Spiderland-era Slint songs.
The songs mostly start off a little simple and quickly add layers of depth as the songs progress towards their cascading climaxes. The music will totally suck you in and it’s easy to get lost dreaming in a sea of multi-textured guitar work and big drums. Beware of Safety mastered their craft early on in their career, and now they just take their time to deliver a 100 percent rock-solid album worthy of inclusion in every fan of this genre’s collection. These guys are among the most interesting around.
The music isn’t the only thing that could be labeled deluxe as in this case the album’s packaging is as well. The album is pressed on two, 45rpm records that are both on colored vinyl (in this case they are on brown marbled vinyl, limited to 300 copies). The labels are full color and the records are housed in a full-color, gatefold sleeve with photos and credits on the inside cover. The vinyl color compliments the artwork’s color scheme which was a nice touch. The mastering job was as good as the label’s previous releases which means the records have a wonderful, warm and full sound.
Leaves/Scars is an album that was worth the two-year wait for its completion and Beware of Safety continue to cement their legacy in the upper echelon of post-rock along with many of their label-mates. The label has such great taste in artists they pick to work with that it is a rare one in that you can blindly buy their releases and be happy with your purchase. This album more than warrants the price of purchase and the beautiful packaging is the icing on the cake of an album that will remain in heavy rotation on your turntable for quite some time. You can pick this up directly from the label while they are still available, though I wouldn’t wait too long as these things tend to sell out rather quickly.
