Safe Bet is the solo project of Chicago’s Gino Savarino, and he is here and ready to revitalize the acoustic emo scene. This isn’t something that Savarino necessarily planned for — or even necessarily knew I was going to be writing today — but once you get to the end of this post, I’m confident you’ll feel the same way.

Savarino debuted Safe Bet back in 2016 with his EP, How’s Life Without Me, and followed that up in 2017 with the What’s Left of This EP. Both of these releases debuted his brand on layered acoustic guitar riffs and sweeps while opening up about past relationships and even his sometimes loose grip on his own mental health.

Where the first two EP’s showed Savarino offering personal commentary on all of the things around him, he has chosen a different approach with the new 2-song EP from Safe Bet, Erased // Idle Head. “I’ve dealt with depression for many years, and these songs deal with how it affects me and the way I think,” he says about the two tracks. This introspective deep dive into his head and bringing his own depression to the forefront is a move that pays off incredibly well.

Today, we are incredibly excited to premiere Erased // Idle Head today — you can find the music video for “Erased” at the top of this post, and a SoundCloud stream of the EP below.

Though these two new songs are true to the established sound of Safe Bet, there is a refinement found in the storytelling — giving you your own chance to reflect, relate, and paint your own picture. The songs are haunting, intricate, and soul-crushing all in one — pieced together by vocals that are soothing one moment and then powerful the next.

“‘Erased’ is a song that sort of details how I handle (or fail to handle) all the negative thoughts that swirl through my head,” Savarino explains, “‘Idle Head’ is a song about my depression leaving me feeling empty and exhausted almost every single day.”

With this latest EP, Savarino has established Safe Bet as a modernized Dashboard Confessional in ways. Think what a record like The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most would sound like in 2018, and either of these two tracks — especially “Erased” — would fit in comfortably

Safe Bet may not have planned on being the epitome of how this brand of acoustic emo can stand and be impressive in 2018, but that is exactly what has happened with Erased // Idle Head.

Upcoming tour with Northbound:

Nov. 28 – Jacksonville, FL @ Maple Street Biscuit Company
Nov. 29 – Margate, FL @ O’Malley’s
Nov. 30 – Ocala, FL @ Alchemy Ballroom
Dec. 1 – Charleston, SC @ Bootleg Tavern
Dec. 2 – Raleigh, NC @ House Show
Dec. 3 – Richmond, VA @ The Camel
Dec. 5 – Brooklyn, NY @ Gold Sounds
Dec. 6 – Asbury Park, NA @ Asbury Park Brewery
Dec. 7 – New Haven, CT @ The Cave
Dec. 8 – Baltimore, MD @ The Sidebar
Dec. 9 – Syracuse, NY @ Spark Art Space
Dec. 10 – Buffalo, NY @ Stamps The Bar
Dec. 12 – Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
Dec. 14 – Champaign, IL @ House Show
Dec. 15 – Nashville, TN @ Cafe Coco
Dec. 16 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade