The New South Wales-based four-piece are back with another sonic rollercoaster.
The Safety of Life at Sea have unveiled their latest record, Let the River Go, a genre-spanning collection of tracks encompassing everything from Motown to Americana.
Recorded in a rustic studio dubbed ‘The Boatshed’ in rural O’Connell, near Bathurst, before COVID hit, the record was originally scheduled to drop in early 2020.
But with the band’s members based throughout New South Wales, the final stages of putting the album together became a process of Zoom meetings and sharing files online.
Still, Let the River Go maintains the ‘live in the room’ sound the band envisioned for the record.
“In lots of ways it’s quite an upbeat record, but it came from the most tumultuous period of time for us – even before COVID,” says songwriter, pianist and singer Kris Schubert.
“Soul music has that amazing way of letting you totally ‘dish the dirt’ and unload about everything that’s been going on – but lets the crowd keep dancing along to it,” he adds.
The record saw the four-piece enlist the help of long-time collaborators Abby Smith and Sophie Jones (backing vocals) along with their regular live horn trio of Glen Wholohan (sax), Chris Dove (trumpet) and Tim Porter (trombone), as well as recruiting violist Amy Viola for the first time.
The result is an intimate spread of raw, honest and full-sounding tracks showcasing The Safety of Life at Sea’s distinctly diverse sound.
Let the River Go is out now. Check it out on Spotify and keep up with The Safety of Life at Sea on Facebook.
