BEWARE OF SAFETY // MABON - TRANS PURPLE W/ BLACK MARBLE (LP)
RELEASE DATE: 5th March 2021
Directly following a period of unprecedented creative output, the Los Angeles post-rock outfit Beware of Safety found themselves determined to not only continue riding the wave they’d found themselves on, but to expand the possibilities of the sound they had spent the better part of a decade crafting. Coming off a three year period that saw their split with the highly-regarded-yet-wildly-underrated Giants, their massive and diversely creative breakthrough Leaves/Scars, and its complex, impressively layered follow-up Lotusville, the band decided to travel together to a cabin in the wintry wilds of Big Bear, California to write together, free from distractions or responsibilities. The resulting EP, Mabon, stands as their most recent release, and on October 31st it celebrates its fifth anniversary. To commemorate the occasion, we here at dunk!records are excited to share a brand new pressing and release of Mabon, which demonstrates a softer and more meditative vision for Beware of Safety that proves to be exactly the music many of us need during the difficult times we’re facing together.
With the understated yet buoyant acoustics of opener “Shutters,” it’s clear that this is going to be a more introspective experience than the band’s previous outings. There’s a warming effect felt immediately, creating a carefully crafted space where the outside world is left to its devices in favor of quiet and calm. From here, the album has its tone, and even as it spreads its wings over the course of the subsequent five tracks it remains loyal to the peacefulness establish in those opening moments. The louder moments on tracks like “Rise By Sin” and “Mulberry and Heather” take on a bright and triumphant hue juxtaposed with the breezy delicacy of its frequent tranquil passages; the balance the band creates makes it a perfect record for laying on your back staring into space as twilight turns itself over to the evening. An experiment in relinquished expectations and boundaries, Mabon emerges as Beware of Safety’s most complete and engaging works even at its relatively brief running time. One gets the sense that it touches in some way upon all the ground the band members had desired to explore, and with a natural flow that can only accompany pure, unbound performance.
The band best sums up the record in simple terms: “five years later, we hope Mabon provides you 30-ish minutes of respite from the pains and injustices of the real world, to share in the collaboration, optimism, and diversity that we found in the making of this EP.” Don’t miss out on the opportunity to pick up this re-release, it’s one of those albums you don’t realize you’ve been missing dearly until you find yourself suddenly and joyously enveloped in it.
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