In-flight Safety – We Are An Empire, My Dear
Release date: January 27, 2009
In-flight Safety is one of the many bands coming out of the smoking hot East Coast Music scene. With this their second full-length album they have thrown down the gauntlet and served notice that this is not a band to be trifled with. From the opening strains of the lovely waltz-like, “I Could Love You More”, to the closing strains of the anthemic, “Fill Our Wounds”, In-flight Safety has put down a strong, solid musical journey.
One of the many things I like about this CD is the way one song flows into the next, much like a Pink Floyd album, even though they may be quite different stylistically. I can’t think of a song that I would skip because why would I want to interrupt the stream of wonderfully crafted tunes? These songs deserve to be listened to. The lyrics deal with the vagaries of relationships, both personal and more global, intelligently without being sentimental, smarmy or preachy. I hate smarmy and preachy (and I’m looking at you, U2) so it was refreshing to hear this subject matter dealt with pragmatically and intelligently. This is not background/elevator music but music to be enjoyed over a brew or glass of wine with a couple of good friends…or alone with your best girl or guy.
In-flight Safety has been compared to Coldplay and the resemblance can’t be denied. It is especially evident in “Big White Elephant” where the similarities are quite pronounced and the comparison to “White Shadows” is justified. John Mullane’s voice certainly sounds like Chris Martin’s but where Martin’s can sound thin and bright, Mullane’s is richer and darker. It is also more self-assured in falsetto than Martin’s. The guitar work also has the flavour of Jonny Buckland’s (Mullane again) without actually copying it. However, although there are similarities, In-flight Safety carves it’s own sound throughout. The first single “Actors” pays homage to Tokyo Police Club without ever crossing the line into copying territory. And although I’m a big TPC fan, this is my least favourite song on the CD.
I like the production of this CD, all the songs have a warmth missing in large studio recordings. There are soaring melodies, multi-layered instrumentals, and the obligatory piano/guitar solos but none get in the way of the song. Everything fits and makes sense. It’s really nice to hear songs where they take precedence over the production values. In-flight Safety seems to have taken the time to ensure that every element only serves one purpose and that is to the integrity of the song. There are no notes out of place and the vocal phrasing and intonations all serve to fill your emotions without manipulation.
The band recorded the CD in a converted schoolhouse in Nova Scotia, the school room acted as a live room and the hallway the control room. This no doubt adds to the richness of the songs. I believe you can always tell when something is recorded “live from the floor” rather than each band member laying down tracks individually and then being mixed together at the end. I think it is more pronounced in “Amy Racina”, a lovely ballad which shows off Mullane’s vocals. I think in this song he comes closest to sounding like Chris Martin. In this case it isn’t a bad thing.
All in all, I’m as surprised as anyone to be writing positively about a band who I thought were terrible when I saw them at NXNE. In fact, I don’t even think I stayed for the whole set. And if any of my friends are reading this – yes, hell has frozen over, pigs can fly and there will be a blue moon in the sky tonight. I have found a band I like and it’s not even music I would normally go for. I know! How did that happen?
Laurence Currie (Slone, Wintersleep) served as the producer and the band released, “We Are An Empire, My Dear” on their own label, Night Danger. The band consists of: lead vocalist and guitarist, John Mullane; bassist, Brian Goodsell; guitarist/keyboardist, Daniel Ledwell, and drummer, Glen Nicholson. They won three East Coast Music Awards for their first full-length album, “The Coast Is Clear”. They were also nominated for a Juno and a MuchMusic Video Award. The track list is:
1.I Could Love You More
2.Big White Elephant
3.Model Homes
4.Crash/Land
5.Torches
6.Actors
7.Amy Racina
8.CloudHead
9.Paper Thin II
10.Paper Thin
11.The Warning
12.Fill Our Wounds
You can buy “We Are An Empire, My Dear” through iTunes, MapleMusic, or download “The Coast Is Clear” from zunior.com.
You can find In-flight Safety on MySpace, Facebook, or at their website, inflightsafety.ca
Tunes to hear:
In-flight Safety – I Could Love You More
In-flight Safety – Actors
Model Homes by In-Flight Safety
Tags: album
First, I’m glad to see this band getting some coverage on this blog – so this isn’t a typical hater response. But it’s interesting to see an “anti making blogs illegal” post and then see.
You wonder why musicians and labels – or what’s left of them – are scared? This is one blog post – one of probably tons by the time people get to hear this record and understand how good it is – and you give away four songs? The band is giving away two and I’m thinking that should be enough.
These guys may be huge soon, but for now they are a band in Halifax trying to get paid.