Song Premiere: The Safes Unleash Midwestern Power-Pop With A Nod To The British Invasion

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 6, 2017 6:00PM

The Safes

Usually when you hear “band of brothers” it’s a euphemism for a tight-knit group of musicians, but in the case of The Safes it’s a statement of fact. The O’Malley brothers have been fronting this Chicago power-pop combo since its formation in 2003, and have put out a string of infectious albums that have always gotten repeated plays from the Chicagoist staff.

The group also has a history of working with high profile producers like Keith Cleversley and Jim Diamond, when they’re not producing themselves. On Tasty Waves, out this Friday, they teamed up with Brian Deck, who has worked with Modest Mouse and The Shins, to help them create their latest collection of spitfire quick, yet melodically sticky tunes.

We have a taste of the album for you below, in the form of their newest rollicking single, “Mediocre Jokers.” We asked singer and guitarist Patrick O'Malley about the song.

"Try and put your finger on this one! It's a twangy country thang! No wait, that sounds more like a power-pop build? Just what is that guitar doing? And that bass? What are these lyrics? Hold on, now where is this going? Answer. Well, everywhere you can find the intersection of gratifying resolutions and score settling lyrics, that's where!" he said.

The man may not be a music writer, but we couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

Tasty Waves is out on Friday, Sept. 8. The band is on tour through the fall, and play The Beat Kitchen in Chicago on Nov. 22.