Public Access TV

Yes, Street Safari's album cover does look like some mix of Duran Duran and A-ha, so you wouldn't be mistaken for believing Public Access T.V. hails from the decade of neon leg warmers, big hair, and synthesizers. But alas, they are from the present, no matter how much they try to emulate a bygone era. And thank god for that.

Never Enough, their 2016 full length debut, was jittery, infused with jagged guitar riffs creating a  rough-around-the-edges sound. The high frequency guitars, accompanied by the lo-fi fuzz harks back to punk influences but with a more melodic clang. Street Safari maintains the swagger that they showcased in the first album but its more refined, glossier and dazzling. 

The tracks on Street Safari range from ebullient and quirky to mellow and melodic, always saturated with these deep seated grooves that make the album spunky, fun, light, soft, and raucous all at once. With Street Safari they split from the frenetic fade of Never Enough into a more polished and gleaming sound, traipsing through a more New Wave sound as they discuss love and heartbreak and all the insecurities and uncertainty that resides between the two.

Never Enough remind me of a faded picture, kinda bent at the edges with a slightly yellow tinge and the subjects blurred from moving whereas Street Safari is more of a polaroid–glossy and colorful and playful. The gloss and catchy rhythms sometimes disguising the pain and seriousness of the topics in the songs, like someone trying to deflect all the emotions with humor. But it's all there, tucked between bubblegum beats and dancey riffs.

Personal Faves: "Your God and Mine," "Told You Too Much," "Rough Boy."