Opposite Day
Safety First (Eat a Finger Peach Look)
Reviewed by Doug Freeman, Fri., Aug. 3, 2007
Opposite Day
Safety First (Eat a Finger Peach Look)
In the bizarro world of Austin's Opposite Day, "Safety First" isn't exactly a motto that comes to mind. No sooner has opener "Solid Baby" settled into a fairly blasé ska-inflected pop-punk than Greg Yancey drops a funky bassline, bringing the song to a standstill and leading into Sam Arnold's surf riffs. Safety First only unwinds from there, an unruly, unpredictable stew as impressive as it is bewildering. Like an improbable Weezer/Red Hot Chili Peppers collaboration, guitars explode atop intimidating bass then lull into absurdist lyrical melodies: "Elephant and me. In a pharmacy." The cartoonish detour of "Federalist 10" and zombie anthem "Brains!" sound like Spike Jones plundering Frank Zappa's garage, while the banjo of "Aztec Princess" sits in why-the-hell-not fashion alongside the beat-boxing of "Laurentide." Add the poetic, acoustic "Astronomy Overflowed," and everything seems inverted. Opposite Day may lack direction, but all the fun's in the wandering.
