Safe's Cinematic Ocean on LP

I think this is the last LP from my Syracuse stack that I need to discuss. I have a few more 7" singles that have snuck into my hands over the last few weeks, such as the Steven Douglas Wolfe collection I received just a couple of weeks ago. But I received this particular pile of LPs way back at the beginning of the summer and I was shocked and dismayed that a couple of titles slipped through the cracks.

I listened to this LP, Safe's Cinematic Ocean, right after Ulf Oesterle from Aux Records gave it to me. Actually, he gave me three copies of the album, all different colors. I've included two of the colors here--I never saw the third pressing because Shayne at Tenacious Sound grabbed it before I could open it. So I don't have the "complete" collection. But I do have an extra copy!

I'm not sure why I saved this LP for last. Of all the Syracuse records I've listened from L.R.S.. bettyElm and Aux, this one is perhaps the most polished, most professional and most likely to be heard on a college station--and I don't mean any of this as a diss to Safe. Over the last few months I've been trying to get a handle on the Syracuse music scene, and for the most part the DIY/indie rock influences run strong in Salt City. It's rough around the edges, passionate, retro--not that different than other medium-sized cities in the US--but there's more of a sense of fun here.

Cinematic Ocean, however, is dense and textured indie rock quartet music, a couple of guitars and a rhythm section and vocals that are earnest and clear without being too poppy. For a debut album it's very consistent, with each track maintaining the same high level of energy; it's an indie rock version of Damn the Torpedoes. There's a seriousness and dedication at work here--this quartet has mastered the concept of sounding like themselves, finding their sonic signature and making songs that sound like, well, Safe. That's something a lot of bands don't get right for a few albums, after they've earned their freedom by selling a few millions CDs.

In researching the band and this album, I made an interesting discovery--Cinematic Ocean was released in November of 2012, more than four years ago. Still, it's in the new release section at The Sound Garden, the record store here in Armory Square. I was also playing this LP in Shayne's store a few days ago and someone walked in and immediately asked if this was Safe. In a way Safe represents the great Syracuse hope, a local band that has garnered a great local rep and is perhaps ready to push for bigger exposure. If so, it's been four years already, so I hope we get that awesome sophomore breakthrough album--for all I know it's already out--and then I can say you heard about it here first.

More Goodies from Stephen Douglas Wolfe

I'm hanging out at my Syracuse dealer's store, and some guy who looked suspiciously like singer-songwriter Stephen Douglas Wolfe walks in with a bunch of music from Stephen Douglas Wolfe and says, "thank you for reviewing that 7" single from Stephen Douglas Wolfe." He was with another guy who looked suspiciously like Ulf Oesterle from Aux Records.

They handed me the collected works of Stephen Douglas Wolfe--which you can order from his website. If you visit the website, like I did just thirty seconds ago, you'll see Stephen Douglas Wolfe on the home page, walking around in Armory Square in Syracuse, right past the store where I'm now sitting. Wait, just now I looked out the window and Stephen Douglas Wolfe just walked by again! He is everywhere!

On a day where I actually received a lot of new music to review, this was just too cool to ignore. I really like Stephen's 7" single "We'll Live"--and I'm looking forward to the rest of these discs. Thanks Stephen and Ulf for dropping by!

Thoughts in Reverse on LP and CD

I had to work up to this one. This is, for all intents and purposes, as heavy as it gets for me. Michael Rafferty, my smoking buddy and drummer for Fall of Humanity, warned me about his CD, saying that a few tracks were pretty heavy--which probably meant that a 54-year-old like me might get whiplash from listening to it. I found Mike's band to be a pretty solid modern metal band, not too much for my aging ears. When I reviewed We the Wild's CD a few weeks ago, I may have been a bit too rough on them for their rather formulaic lyrical style--that oft-copied juxtaposition of the angry howl and the backing harmonies designed specifically for shouting in a large arena. I didn't find the growling too "heavy" as much as I objected to that type of vocals being an easy way out for singers who can actually sing.

Thoughts in Reverse makes all of that sound like Tiny Tim singing "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" on Laugh-In. On an old black-and-white Zenith. Back in the '60s. You want heavy? This album is rusty-garbage-can-full-of-mercury heavy. After listening to these six slices of precise yet baleful doom, I felt like I had a case of the cold sweats. I was so discombobulated that I listened to the new Norah Jones album immediately afterward just to get my bearings back, and I don't like Norah Jones. ("Get high/take flight"? Really?) In fact, I may have hurt my head a little after listening to Thoughts in Reverse. It might be permanent.

I can't even imagine listening to this on headphones. That's far too close.

All right, I'm exaggerating. I'm not that wimpy about this kind of music. Just recently I listened to Napalm Death's highly acclaimed 2015 anthology Apex Predator--Easy Meat and found it a lot of fun. I'm not afraid of a wall of sound. In fact, I kind of like being swept away by tidal waves of pure noise. I'm also not saying that Thoughts in Reverse is the heaviest music in the world--I once heard a band in Austin that played so loud that it drove everyone in the club out into the street until the manager literally pulled the plug. But it's the heaviest music I want to listen to. If there's heavier, I'm okay with not hearing it.

This album came from Ulf Oesterle from Aux Records here in Syracuse. He and Jenn Bort from bettyElm records came in a few months ago and so far everything I've reviewed from the pair was from Jenn. I did sample everything from their pile or records after they left, and when I got to this one I said "Holy crap, wow...that's intense." I didn't know back then how I was going to approach it. But here I am, months later, attempting to do just that.

I'll say the following nice things. I love the colored vinyl. The pressing is clean and the sound quality is first-rate, especially for an indie label. (I've been very impressed with the bettyElm pressings I've received, and Aux seems to have the same high standards for their vinyl.) And while I can't quite don my reviewer's hat and talk about Thoughts in Reverse with a modicum of intelligence, I will say that I'm grateful to have it here--the next time someone tries to tell me that some piece of music is "heavy," I'll put this on and say "Heavier than this? I didn't think so."