Chris F. Edley and Jesse Hadden are Bay Area duo SAFE. Their Oakland studio's computer—a "hackintosh" built last fall from what Edley calls "discount Shenzen parts"—just caught fire, burning up their forthcoming full-length debut. What's left is what's streaming below, brittle snap drums filled out with feathery guitar and ramshackle keyboard runs. The whole thing feels like coastal summer, Edley's sketch vocals uncannily chenille-soft, even when the lyrics turn mean. His pillowy, restrained delivery is jarring on "Hatesong," a numb break up mantra where he sings, I hope you never find joy in your life/ I hope that all of your dreams are just washed away in the strife. Rising out of the shitstorm ashes, SAFE are writing new songs and determined to record these ones more methodically, with some real piano, maybe strings and better data backup. Their album will be released sometime this summer, on Himanshu Suri's Greedhead Music.
Stream: SAFE's Ghost Record Demos
