reax music magazine :: music + culture » Reviews » Safari So Good - Every Fight Is A Food Fight When You're A Cannibal

What is it with all the dudes from now-defunct prog-core act Breaking Pangaea joining more accessible and successful acts that, musically speaking, can't hold a candle to their former band? This time around it's bassist Mike Satzinger, who's joined forces with some guys from Pennsylvania pop-rock act The Commercials in this new emo venture. And yeah, Safari So Good may not be huge now, but they will – by injecting humor and ace musicianship into an otherwise completely familiar formula, the group has managed to stand out from the pack while offering up a safely tried-and-true sound. Tunes like “A Pirate's Life for Me” and “You Got It Dude” are both catchy and resonant, with a little more instrumental and emotional depth than most of the Warped Tour soundtracks they resemble. The funny titles and wordplay might grow irksome on a full-length disc, but presented here in a brief blast of four original tunes and one well-rendered Smashing Pumpkins cover (“Perfect”), they're just enough to slightly reinvigorate an already tired genre. – Scott Harrell