Safari So Good – Every Fight Is A Food Fight When You’re A Cannibal


Band: Safari So Good
Album: Every Fight is a Food Fight When You’re A Cannibal
Genre: Pop Punk
Label: Takeover

Tracks:
1. A Pirate’s Life For Me
2. The Right To Arm Bears
3. Dogs with Bees in Their Mouths Who When They Bark They Shoot Bees at You
4. You Got it Dude
5. Perfect

In the midst of the rise of Myspace, it seems fashion and bright colors have taken over the pop punk scene. These days, it’s more about straightened hair, tight jeans, and tongue in cheek clothing rather than songwriting and musicianship. Thankfully, in the darkness there is light in the form of Safari So Good. This band not only has the musicianship to craft great song structures, but the ability to put fun and excitement back into pop punk music without all the glam and flash. Their debut EP, Every Fight Is A Food Fight, is a rough, raw, and thoroughly invigorating riot of sound that you need to hear.

“A Pirate’s Life For Me,” kicks things off in high gear. Crunchy guitars with catchy riffs and a pulsating drum beat instantly sucks you in. If carols are the sound of Christmas, pop punk is the anthem of summer and Safari So Good does it quite well. From the music to the chorus which is live setting ready, it’s a flawless opener. It’s simple lyrical content is the norm for this genre, so we won’t hold that against them, but it would be nice to see some more work on the creativity side. The follow up, “The Right To Arm Bears,” feels like it’s screaming for the radio to pick it up and the radio should listen as it’s a great track, perhaps best on the whole record. The lyrics reflect the common theme of running away from the 9 to 5 world and being, “criminals.” It’s a very over used idea. but Safari So Good makes it feel fresh and genuine with great instrumentation and production. It’s mixtape ready and will surely be used by many a hopeless romantic teen to swoon that someone special.

The third track, “Dogs With Bees in Their Mouths Who When They Bark Shoot Bee At You [a Simpson’s reference],” is great, but left me a little unsatisfied. The music is great, the lyrics are alright, but it felt so run of the mill that I couldn’t get into it. However, I’m probably being way too critical. This is pop punk and this song, though laced with a feel of “been there done that,” is solid for the genre. However, the next track, “You Got It Dude,” is a breath of fresh air. From subtle beginnings the song grows slowly before exploding into a real feet mover with just enough synth as to not go overboard with electronics. The song speaks like a track from Fall Out Boy’s. Take This To Your Grave yet is all Safari So Good. There are comparisons to be found of course, but this band has a niche that makes them special. I don’t know how to explain it, it’s something about the way the songs feel crafted around the vocals, yet not in a way that puts anything on the back burner. It’s unique yet common and that’s quite amazing. While riding high from the greatness of that track, the band turns to a very rough sounding acoustic closer. “Perfect,” is a cover of the same song by the Smashing Pumpkins. It’s good considering the source material, but isn’t really the kind of closer I was hoping to hear.

Overall, Safari So Good are on to something big. The member of this band come from various musical backgrounds and somehow manage to make pop punk feel pure again. I don’t know if it’s the rough recording or simply the skill they have at this craft, but it’s refreshing to say the least. I think there is some obvious room for growth from the EP to whatever the band chooses to do next, but they have laid the ground work for a long and prosperous career in this industry. We here at UTG are quite excited to see where they go and once you hear them, we think you’ll be just as anxious as we are now.

*Written By: James Shotwell*
GRADE: 7/10

James Shotwell
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One Response to “Safari So Good – Every Fight Is A Food Fight When You’re A Cannibal”

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