Friday, March 11, 2011

Saves the Day - 2006 Sound The Alarm


Band : Saves the Day
Album : Sound The Alarm
Release Year : 2006
Genre : Pop Punk / Punk / Emo

Tracklist :
1. Head For The Hills
2. The End
3. Shattered
4. Eulogy
5. Dying Day
6. 34
7. Say You'll Never Leave
8. Diseased
9. Don't Know Why
10. Sound The Alarm
11. Bones
12. Delusional
13. Hell Is Here

The album stumbles around, almost defining itself through losing the perfectly melodic sound this band had held close to heart in earlier albums. The songs are a welcome mix of fast and slow, with the only obvious slow track being "Don't Know Why." The aptly titled album holds a certain urgency, as if any minute through the listen a certain tragedy will strike. It's an anticipation that pays off well, with the closing track stating the simple fact that everyone you know will someday die.

The record suceeds most in being an album, and not a collection of songs assembled. Thematically, musically, lyrically; everything in this record coheres brilliantly in a sickeningly desperate way. Chris Conley has contrived a sort of destitute masterpiece, singing sorrow-filled pop songs with an aggression that is subtle enough to be enjoyable without being overkill. 
Any faults would be found in some of the overly poppy tracks, such as "Dying Day," where such morose lyrics are not as well-suited for such jumpy songs. However, that's not to say the songs are not enjoyable; just not as great as the rest.

For me, the standout is the title track. "Sound the Alarm" accomplishes everything the album sets out to in brilliant fashion, showing a return to a form that Saves the Day was best at, but also showing the band has room to grow, possibly away from the verse/chorus/breakdown/end formula they've come to work with so well. This isn't the Saves the Day that everyone knew five years ago, and it's not the Saves the Day everyone wrote off two years ago; this is a welcome change that should not only have old fans glad to hear, but probably turn quite a few heads along the way.





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