Saves the Day Albums (7)
What The Critics Say
Under the Boards is the second in a trilogy of albums that Saves the Day has billed to be a "story of self-discovery." 2006's Sound the Alarm was the aggressive and urgent pop-punk most fans expected and ultimately demanded, a record of discontent and unchecked energy. Under the Boards -- with a solemn night sky adorning the album's cover -- appears as the counterpart to that restlessness, a record that is quieter, more pensive, and more sorrowful. This is an album of reflection, so much so that even the faster tracks revolve around little more than tight rhythms, remorse, and emotions of the bitter kind. The opening title track sounds eerily like Chris Conley channeling Muse (much like Matchbook Romance did on their 2006 album Voices), where a lonely guitar barely supports his despondent croon before the band comes in full force behind him, growing dramatically to round out the dark mood surrounding his naked voice. Saves the Day manage to balance out all of their emotional musings with strong pop songs, however, ensuring that Under the Boards doesn't sink beneath the weight of all the band's soul searching. So for every woefully solemn "Stay" and "Turning Over in My Tomb," there is the bouncy "Radio," the even brighter "Can't Stay the Same," and the "That Thing You Do" vibe of "Bye Bye Baby." Yet as was stated before, even the songs with a slight skip in their step deal overwhelmingly with loneliness and pain, which keeps the record always well within rainy day terrain. It makes for a cohesive album, and one where Conley's voice is so strong and clear throughout, the production so clean and uncluttered, that it all washes down smooth and effortlessly. It may take multiple spins for a few songs to really find their footing with fans, but those people will surely be rewarded handsomely in the end, most likely finding this album the one they reach for immediately on those nights where nothing sounds better than just sitting in a room alone, dwelling on anything and everything -- and accompanied by a great soundtrack. ~ Corey Apar, All Music Guide
'Bug Sessions, Vol. 1'
Release Date 1/1/2006
Tracks 7
Label Cottleston Pie
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What The Critics Say
After somewhat alienating fans by flexing their indie rock muscles on 2003's In Reverie, it seems that Saves the Day want to reclaim their stake to the emocore throne. Whether or not a conscious reaction to the mixed response of their last (though admittedly solid) album, Sound the Alarm harks back to the aggressive pop-punk nature of their Through Being Cool days, but ya know, five years more mature. Chris Conley's voice is as distinctive as ever -- walking that fine line between endearing and annoying -- but somehow now invokes a slight likeness to Our Lady Peace's Raine Maida mixed with a Sid Vicious-esque sneer. "Head for the Hills" sufficiently sets both the cynical mood and quick pace for the album ahead with its thick, understated bassline and punchy disposition that fiercely proclaims "And if I die tonight and go to Hell/I wonder will I see you?" As such, Saves the Day certainly haven't lost their knack for crafting the perfect singalong pop song for bitterness and heartache altogether presented in a gleaming package. Morbid, often bloody, imagery is still present amidst emotive lines ("I'll cut out my throat and I'll eat it raw/And drown in the blood as it fills my lungs"); thus one advantage is revealed to having a hand in defining a genre -- the gory lines come off as clever instead of clichéd and annoying. And while bouncy numbers like "The End," "Bones," and "Dying Day" show Saves the Day re-creating what they do best, the unhurried backdrop of the compelling "Don't Know Why" and "Sound the Alarm" are affecting songs that should grow on listeners to lasting satisfaction. While Sound the Alarm is enjoyable enough, it still doesn't reach the level of excellence reached on Stay What You Are. The latter album had more diversity and memorable moments than Sound the Alarm's 13 tracks put together. With hopes set too high for an emo masterpiece that somehow blended In Reverie's pensive experimentation and Stay What You Are's sparkling nature on a pop-punk canvas, Sound the Alarm is ultimately just another good Saves the Day record. But hey, what's really wrong with that? ~ Corey Apar, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Saves the Day's fourth album, In Reverie, is the band's poppiest and most upbeat and musical record yet. They have mostly ditched the punk in their previously punk-pop sound and gone straight for the pop jugular. In fact, the one or two moments when they attempt to rock out, like the chorus of album opener "Anywhere With You" or on the plodding "Where Are You," they sound generic and false. Most of the songs are like "What Went Wrong" and "In Reverie": pure pop from the vocal harmonies to the cheesy synths to the sticky sweet melodies. At their best, on tracks like "Morning in the Moonlight" and the chord-y power ballad "Tomorrow Too Late," Saves the Day manages to combine the aggressive approach of punk with pretty pop melodies and perky arrangements in a style not too far from the mighty Sloan. They are not quite to that level; not all the songs are top-notch, Chris Conley's weedy vocals are an acquired taste, and the lyrics are on the dense side (and are occasionally dark to the point of distraction, like on the scary "Monkey"). But it's a bit like Peter Pan -- if you can suspend your disbelief long enough, Saves the Day can fly. Not very high but just enough. At least high enough to separate them from the pack of identikit punk-poppers clogging the bins in the early 2000s. They should be commended for making a record this pop, this melodic, and this non-punk, especially when being punk is such the thing to be. ~ Tim Sendra, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Punk rock finally smiled during the late '90s and into the millennium, thanks to the bands like New Found Glory, Sum 41, and countless other TRL mainstays. New Jersey's own Saves the Day play with post-punk stylings on their third album, Stay What You Are. More mature compared to 1999's Through Being Cool, Stay What You Are mixes emocore delight with post-grunge snarl, and Saves the Day's harmonies are jaunty and tight. But the album is also quite dark and grim; they stay close to the anger found in punk in the first place. Album opener "At Your Funeral" pauses at the idea of death of a peer. Frontman Chris Conley's boyish vocals project a façade of sweet, bouncy sounds, practically glossy and sheer. The bleak descriptions found on "Jukebox Breakdown" and "Nightingale" capture the grittiest three-chord riffs and Saves the Day's highest artistic moment yet. They're bittersweet from love, and self-discovery is most pertinent. They want to avoid such loss, and "All I'm Losing Is Me" suggests that. Saves the Day is conscious of what's affecting their generation, post Generation-X, and they're asking thousands of questions. Stay What You Are yearns to fight the compromise within social standards and complies with bit of self-indulgence. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide
'Through Being Cool'
Release Date 11/2/1999
Tracks 12
Label Equal Vision
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What The Critics Say
Possessing a fiery dynamism lacking in their debut Can't Slow Down, Saves the Day's sophomore release on Equal Vision is an emocore classic. More anxious than emo godfathers Get Up Kids, Saves the Day opted for punchier production and faster tempos to provide a backdrop for singer Chris Conley's romantic teen declarations. True to the genre Conley helped define, his lyrics walk a thin sentimental wire. Just when the stories lose balance, leaning toward the obvious, sappy, or both, Conley pulls it together with plain-spoken honesty, as in "Third Engine" when he describes seeing his long-distance love in the face of another girl while riding a train: "I looked out past her cheeks/Through the glass-light conduit/But the sun had sank already/Disappeared into New Jersey/Oh, why don't they have phones on these things." Conley's disclosures resonate wildly with his teen audience -- validating their shallow, but still open wounds -- while the band's tightly wound arrangements gyrate around his language of casual suffering. Highlights of this most elevated combination include the melodic, quick-paced "My Sweet Fracture" and "The Last I Told You." Ending Through Being Cool with the metallic "Banned From the Back Porch," Saves the Day toys with expectation, revealing an eagerness to explore outside the emocore form that is all but mastered on this 1999 release. ~ Vincent Jeffries, All Music Guide
'Can't Slow Down'
Release Date 7/25/1998
Tracks 14
Label Equal Vision
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Can't Slow Down documents the origins of a very young punk band blessed with unusual talent. Due only to their instrumental superiority, Saves the Day's subsequent releases slightly eclipse this 1998 full-length debut. Listeners will probably prefer Through Being Cool's more developed emocore melodicism and highly evolved arrangements. That's not to say that Can't Slow Down fails to deliver any of the pop-punk components that emo fans would expect from the New Jersey musicians. Most notably, vocalist and songwriter Chris Conley's inventive lyrical approach is up to the high standard of later material. Worded like journal entries and love letters, Conley's refreshing verses are free of clichés and predictable rhymes, giving an honesty and definition to his work that similar artists generally can't match. Things really click on better cuts like "Always Ten Feet Tall," but for the most part, Can't Slow Down doesn't quite deliver the musicality that fans of Saves the Day might expect. ~ Vincent Jeffries, All Music Guide
