Buy Saves The Day – Daybreak LP – It may be that Chris Conley is the only remaining member of the Saves the Day lineup that was four year ago with the band’s previous release, Under the Boards, but Daybreak – the final album in a trilogy that started with Sound the Alarm – accomplishes something very interesting. There is a full band behind Saves the Day, and yet many of the songs feel like it’s simply Conley baring his soul all by himself. It’s personal.
Though I imagine that won’t be much of a surprise to the fans who have grown up on Saves the Day’s particular brand of pop-emo over the years. What may be a surprise is how much of a better – less anger- and frustration-filled – of a place Conley seems to be. Sure, Daybreak still deals with many of the angsty issues that have marked Saves the Day over the years, but it’s about letting things go and overcoming those issues this time around.
Daybreak starts with a 10-minute-plus opening number of the same name, broken into five sections. It sounds, on paper, a lot like the rock opera stuff fans might associate with Green Day nowadays, but Saves the Day does a better job of blending it all together as cohesive piece of music with what seem like logical transitions. It’s a strong way to open the album, the first for the band with label Razor & Tie.
Daybreak is a moody and very full-sounding effort for Saves the Day, still featuring plenty of catchy hooks to grab hold of fans, along with some engaging guitar work. It’s all a bit straightforward and in some ways lacks a certain musical complexity, but Saves the Day does a great job of creating atmosphere on Daybreak. And longtime fans will agree that the band has come a long way and has carved out a truly unique sound in the scene. Saves the Day isn’t going to be mistaken for any other band. That, and the baseline on “U” is really cool.
The first pressing is absolutely fantastic. On solid 180-gram black vinyl, the sound is fantastic. Buyers are also treated to a download card for the digital version of the album. The artwork is nothing to write home about, though. The image is rather plain – simply looking like a scratched up grayish backdrop with simple text, and of course a muted image of the sun coming up over the horizon. The inside sleeve simply features the lyrics and credits front and back, and the image on the record is equally as dull. But I suspect most fans will be too invested in what’s on the vinyl to mind.
Buy Saves The Day – Daybreak LP
Review by: Bill Jones
Audio/Press Quality: 5/5
The Album: 4/5
Artwork/Packaging: 3/5
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