Saves the Day

The irony of the title of the third album from New Jersey emo punks Saves the Day won't be lost on anyone familiar with the Can't Slow Down or Through Being Cool discs. The reason? This disc sounds practically nothing like either of their previous efforts. With the exception of Chris Conley's strangled vocals and a few fast breaks, Saves the Day have not stayed what they were. They have written an album that is mellower, darker and more melodic than the first two. In fact, they sound more like Promise Ring than the band we heard on Through Being Cool, but don't tell Conley that, "Excuse me?" Conley questions, taking great exception to the comparison. "Ok, well, we're Saves the Day. To me it doesn't sound anything like the Promise Ring, it just sounds like music." He acknowledges, however, there is a noticeable change in direction on this disc. "It's extremely different but so is our second album, which was extremely different from our first album. It's not a conscious thing at all; it was something that just happened. It's not like we sat down and said, 'oh, let's try to write some slower songs.' I can't explain it, you just grow. It's like eventually you outgrow your clothes, we're just growing as a band, there's no point in making the same album twice." Conley admits the Rob Schnapf (Beck, Elliot Smith, Wool) produced record could cost them fans who liked the double time punk fury of Through Being Cool, and without a doubt it will, but anyone who's willing to invest the time will ultimately be rewarded with a fine record from a band that's maturing like a fine wine. "There are going to be those people that are thrown and don't come back, and that's cool," he says. "If not a single person likes the music, it doesn't matter to us because we've made the songs and that's all we can do, we can't make people like them. We did it in an honest way, we didn't compromise at all, we just followed whatever it is inside us telling us to make music."