First Play Friday // ‘Safe Bet’ – Cucamaras

In case you missed it, I started a new series on the blog last week (you can read the first two posts in the series here and here) where I show off a new — or upcoming — release I’ve been listening to.

For the third post in the series, I’m spotlighting ‘Safe Bet’ by Cucamaras. The Nottingham four piece show off their post-punk sound with a guitar heavy, post-punk anthem.

From the opening line, lead vocalist Josh Hart’s soaring vocal takes the listener through the mind numbing experience of university and maintaining a social life (or trying to).

Regarding the track, Hart says “(it) was written whilst I was in university. It was one of the first times I’d written about direct experiences, not my own, but what I was observing at the time. Safe Bet was me, sat hungover in my grim uni room, deeping how it’s actually really sad and mentally draining to navigate complex relationships at uni, but I do tap into the whit of it all at times too.”

“The lyrics themselves were written about a year before they were paired with music. I wrote the guitar riff during one of the numerous lockdowns of 2020 and originally had it penned for a darker, slower track, but when we took it to the practice room it found a new lease of life, Joe’s drums sound like they could be taken from Parquet Courts’ debut or a Cure record, whilst the vocals from myself and ad-libs from Dan feel very Jamie T.”

The track is an unapologetic, thumping post-punk anthem, a combination of direct lyrics and heavy guitar that is over as quick as it starts.

‘Safe Bet’ is a track about direct experiences, one that many of us will relate to over this tricky period of our lives, as we navigate relationships and figure ourselves out. Whilst Hart’s intriguing vocal is what grabs your attention instantly, the way that the music blends effortlessly with the honest, moody lyrics proves that this track is the work of four people who will take the post-punk music scene by storm.