Miscellaneous - Safety Meeting Records

  by Anthony Strutt

published: 19 / 2 / 2009

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Anthony Strutt profiles New Haven, Connecticut-based label Safety Meeting Records and three of its latest releases by Crooked Hook, Quiet Life and the Mountain Movers

Safety Meeting Records is run by Carlos Wells, and based in New Haven in Connecticut. It supports local talent and there are currently seven bands with releases on its roster-Crooked Hook, Humanoid, M.T. Bearington, the Mountain Movers, Quiet Life, Titles and Weigh Down. It also has recently signed two new bands, Skeletonbreath and the Vultures, who will have albums out over the next few months. The following albums are three of its most recent releases. Quiet Life/’Act Natural’ Quiet Life come from London in Connecticut and are Sean W. Spellman, Ryan Spellman, Craig Rupert and Paul Dutton. They have been assisted on ‘Act Natural’ by various local friends that include the Butterflies of Love’s Daniel Greene and Scott Amore. It opens with ‘Trying to Get Home’, which is haunting and very slow, something like Jeff Buckley or local Connecticut inhabitant Mark Mulcahy, until it eventually speeds up a little, and gets into gear with a 1970's groove. ‘Leah’ has another fine 70's groove and is a slow country rock number. ‘Were You Singing ?’ is a country number that has your foot tapping in no time at all, while ‘California’ has crisp vocals from Sean and is soft and acoustic. ‘Every Dime’ is much muddier in sound, like a combination of a prog rock number and a White Stripes track. ‘Did You Love Me ?’ is slow and soft, almost like an an acoustic country style Velvet Underground track until it becomes muddy and messy again at the end. ‘Sweet Smile’ sounds like a Bungalow country rock track. ‘Head in the Clouds’ is faster with a sharp guitar line and a Marc Bolan style vocal from Sean. ‘Wedding Suit’ is a sad country rock number, while ‘Nighttime’ sounds like a community sing-a-long. It ends with the rocky blues of ‘Niantic Bay Blues’, a chill-out track. Crooked Hook/’The Captain Will Be Your Guide’ Crooked Hook are a three piece from New Haven and consists of Joey Maddalena (guitar, vocals), Rick Omonte (bass) and Jay Bates (drums). While Quiet Life are fairly quiet , Crooked Hook are loud, and work within grooves that are blues based and which touch on the beauty of people like Jimi Hendrix, Cream and more recently ZZ Top. ‘Captain’ opens the album. It is very muddy and a combination of ZZ Top and a grungy Neil Young and Crazy Horse, while Joey’s voice is husky and bluesy. As it progresses, it becomes more like a Led Zeppelin 1970's-style number which suits the band very well. ‘Deep End’ starts off as a prog work out, while Joey’s vocals sound like Keith Relf of Yardbirds or Eric Clapton in Cream. As it develops it turns into a blues jam which Hendrix would be proud of. ‘Mystical Beauty’ is an Americana number, moody and deep, with a 70's rock-style vocal from Joey and some very late 60's wah wah guitar which gives it a retro feel. ‘Raven’ is a Cream style work out with very Eric Clapton-like vocals. ‘Screaming Evil’ is muddy and full on, like prime time Hendrix with another husky Clapton-style vocal. It ends with ‘Crimson Dub’ which is a 12 minute plus blues work out that is a little over stretched until it warms up near the end. The Mountain Movers/’Let's Open Up the Chest’ ‘Let’s Open Up the Chest’ is the second album from the Mountain Movers, the side project of Daniel Greene of the Butterflies of Love and Rick Omonte of Crooked Hook. It is released on a limited edition vinyl of just 300 copies with a CDR of the album included. In addition to having both of his bands, Dan is also an artist, a school teacher in a Jewish school, and writes poetry. The album opens with ‘When the Sun is White’, which is grungy but has sugar sweet lead vocals from Dan, lush keyboards and near perfect Beach Boys harmonies. ‘Let's Open Up the Chest’ is keyboard heavy, with a huge chunk of Motown funk added and a great horn solo. ‘Last Chance for Summer’ is a gritty number with some fine guitar work and heavy-sounding keyboards. Also featuring a flute, it is very reminiscent of the Butterflies of Love. ‘Lost Control’ is a slow burning keyboard-based number with solid bass, guitar and drums to match. The guitars are loud while the harmonies smell of summer sunshine. ‘You Know Who I Speak Of’ has strong guitar that jangles in a REM style and smooth keyboards. Dan's vocal is crystal clear and very commanding. There is also an elegant trumpet solo. ‘When I Die’ is moody and slow, while ‘I Shall Be in Love’ is a retro-in-tone track that will have you you tapping your foot or nodding your head. ‘Tornados and Divorce’ is a dark, slow-paced drinking number with a solid 1970's groove. ‘Real Evil’ is even slower, a late 60's avant garde track. It ends with Ride Down Headfirst’ which has sad trumpet and jazz-paced drums, while its guitars rock out like Neil Young and Crazy Horse.

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