Genre labels can be a pain in the ass. We all know this, and have encountered some of them that make us shake our head and wonder what hellscape we live in that we have to go to such lengths just to describe a bit of music. The flip side is that, while we can go too far, we do need words to prepare us for what we're getting ourselves into. Music is hard to describe, and our language sometimes struggles to have an easy way to point us in the right direction. That feeling came to me when I first sat down to listen to Sarah A& The Safe Word's new album.
The best way I can sum up their sound is with a phrase I saw; cabaret rock. If you start with an early 00s emo band, then add in the smoky sense of an old cabaret show, you might be able to imagine what the band has to offer us. Blending emo with violin might sound like an odd thing to do, but the authenticity of the instrument gives so much resonance and richness to the sound.
My first exposure was through the song "Old Lace", which caught my attention because of how many times over the years I had run across and watched pieces of "Arsenic And Old Lace" on the classic movie channel. The memory was enough to make me curious, and the song provided me something I don't think I've ever heard before. With a bit of Vaudeville vamp, and a whole lot of pop stickiness, the three minute ditty lifted the curtain and opened me ears to this new kind of show.
During the first full song, "Ruby Off The Rails", the chorus ends by singing, "time is only a construct". That is rather fitting, because the band's sound is pulling from today, the early emo wave, and the music of the distant past. They take those pieces of the past, and use them to construct something that stands apart from all the bands that copy the classic pop/punk and emo down to the letter. Sarah And The Safe Word are a bit like listening to a revival show, living in two eras at the same time.
But none of that would be effective if the band didn't deliver songs to back it up. To go back to those emo comparisons I have been drawing, this album was released around the same time Fall Out Boy made their return, and it isn't going very far to say Sarah & The Safe Word delivered the better set of songs from top to bottom. Whether it's the throat-shredding hook on "A Little Evil Never Hurt Anyone", or the sweeping bombast of "Sky On Fire", these songs are sticky pop songs dressed up so you don't realize who exactly is tempting you into the booze-soaked night air.
There are certain genres we listen to where it feels like we're being given the exact same thing time and time again, so it's easy to feel bored by music sometimes. That's what makes Sarah & The Safe Word so exciting; I'm not sure I've ever heard a record that does what this one does. It's something unique, which not only feels fresh, but is able to occupy a different space in my mind that has yet to be cluttered by countless other records.
If I look through this broken glass, I can still assemble a mirror that shows me an image close enough to reality. This is one of those records that caught me off-gaurd in the very best way, and now I wonder what else this year can match this wonderful little surprise.
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