Empire Safari - Output
- by Alex Yau Release Date:2011-02-16 Label: Self released
Ever been dissapointed or waited too long for something? Output does this with all the majesty of an old man using back street viagra.The main downfall of Empire Safari is that they're a crappy rollercoaster ride. It's the moment where you reach the top of the drop only to realise it's as thrilling as a night out with Nick Griffin. Title track 'Output' sounds like The Twang have joined forces with Korn's Jonathon Davis, as lead singer Ross Muir is the equivalent of an angsty teenager with confidence problems reaching the line between casual teen and annoying emo, and the end bassline sounds like something from a town market, cheap and tacky.
'Old Days' is better with its Bloc Party melancholic sentiments as Muir voyeuristacally cries, "I don't think I know him as I watch from afar". But even then the prospect of a moody slow track has been spoiled by the dissapointment of the night before with 'Output'. If you manage to get past any awkwardness, you'll get to that cringeworthy friendship stage as the Holloways-esque joyful guitars and misplaced vocals on 'I Think We Drove Too Far' fail to reignite any spark that wasn't there already. First impressions count and although Output does feel like it's going to pick up, in the end it's like a Liberal Democrat's promise.
