Safe Then Sorry, the debut EP from CIAO MALZ, feels raw and immediate, like stepping into the middle of a work in progress. Brooklyn’s Malia DelaCruz brings a restless energy to these four tracks, capturing moments of clarity tangled with humour and introspection. There’s no pretense here—just songs that feel honest and unguarded, created in the kind of basement studio where ideas flow freely, even if the world outside feels off balance. Safe Then Sorry is a snapshot of creativity in its most spontaneous form.
The opener, ‘Two Feet Tall’, sets the tone with stumbling guitars and head-spinning rhythm, capturing the weight of indecision and unspoken words. “I’ve been feeling two, two feet tall / I’ve already heard, heard it all,” sings DelaCruz with a quiet vulnerability, making the song an understated anthem for anyone caught up in their own late-night thoughts. It’s simple, honest, and hits where it matters.
‘Bad for the Bad Guy’ takes a sharp turn into playful alt-country, full of sly wit and poignant self-awareness. “I feel like Mary Shelley in 1818,” DelaCruz quips, weaving literary allusions into a song that balances critique with unexpected warmth. It’s the standout track—fully realised yet still a little rough around the edges, in the best ways.
The mood shifts with ‘Take Me Out of Here’, a dreamier departure from what came before, with DelaCruz blending yearning and defiance. “Should I cut off my own ear and scream it to the heavens?” she asks, leaning for a moment into an offbeat existential frustration that feels equally funny and unsettling. ‘Take Me Out of Here’ is more about the desire to change than the actualisation – it doesn’t try to resolve itself, and that tension lingers with an ache of what coould be. The closer, ‘Gold Rush’, brings everything together with shimmering nostalgia, reflecting on ambition and its fleeting nature: “Like the gold rush, how you know stuff… Baby, good luck.” It’s wistful without the heaviness, ending the EP on a note of gentle resignation.
Safe Then Sorry isn’t trying to be perfect, and that’s its strength. Some moments feel like experiments, half-formed ideas reaching for something bigger, but that’s part of the charm. The EP feels grounded, raw, and real—a snapshot of an artist in motion, unafraid to lean into the messiness of creation. It’s an honest, emotionally open debut that leaves you wanting to hear what’s next.
