album of the week: 1.2

Saves The Day

Daylight

(2011)

why you'll love it: an ambitious series of albums finds closure

why you'll hate it: Fairly generic, some filler

January has traditionally been reserved for sorting out the leftovers of 2011. Albums that did not leave me with much to talk about, but should probably have their moment anyway. I like this time because I'm usually busy and it gives me an excuse to write quick and simple reviews. Saves The Day fit this formula well. Growing up in the late nineties New Jersey underground (or at least below the radio airwaves) scene, Saves The Day was the BIGGEST of deals. The picture perfect "breaking into practically rock star status before you're 20" story. With two scene defining albums under their belt, Saves The Day was impossible to ignore at the turn of the century. Because of this, even today I feel obligated to review, if not at least have a look at, the latest album from songwriter - Chris Conley & whatever the rotating lineup is behind him this year. I was never even a fan of theirs. I think I've only seen them live once. It was just such a important time in my life, I have trouble letting go.

That was ten years ago. The bubble burst for Saves The Day just a few years after that. Their first major label effort had zero commercial success, and was rejected by the indie crowd. Spat out by the industry and shut out by everyone but their core fanbase, Conley fell into a depression that fueled the next three albums into present day. It's a real shame that almost everyone stopped listening, because the dedication to a concept trilogy is worth commending; at the very least worth some attention. Even sadder than that, the first act, Sound The Alarm (2006) was clearly the best of the bunch. The two albums that follow don't even come close to it, no one really gave it a chance, and there is a sense of guilt that comes with saying some of your best work was pure spitfire. It's a bitter, self destructive album, but it totally rocks and makes the biggest emotional splash of this trilogy.

Crap, I haven't even talked about Daybreak yet. A long review is exactly what I didn't want to write, and I thought picking a band I haven't cared about in 5 years would be easy. I listened to Daybreak a couple times last year, and shrugged it off. To prepare for this review, over the last few weeks I started to listen to this again, but played it alongside Sound The Alarm and the rather meh Under The Boards (2007). This is when things really started to click.

Daybreak on its own isn't that much of a treat. It's got a concept over five years in the making, and an eleven minute introductory song; but that concept makes little impact without the last two albums, and the 11 minute song is stitched together like Frankenstien's monster with no interesting transitions. There are a lot of old emo tropes used I've never enjoyed even when they were new. Chris's lyrics are often too personal here, and less existential. It's mostly about trying to rebuild the relationship with his wife. There are a few very strong musical moments that to me, express much more than any lyrics on this album. The opening notes to "Daybreak" stick out as iconic, and the big swell at the end "Undress Me" gets more of a reaction out of me than anything actually said.

Even then, I think these moments only hit you in the right way in context with the last two albums. I guess this is more a review of the entire trilogy rather than just Daybreak. There is an obvious progression in these three albums. A disaster, the grim hopeless aftermath, and making it through to the other side to realize "hey, I'm still here!" There are a few spots in Under The Boards that feel too upbeat and structured. Maybe they were going for some kind of "the world is happily passing me by while I lay here" thing, but that is a stretch. Under The Boards had its own problems, just as Daylight does, but things sort of fall in place when they're played back to back. At the very least, those flaws begin of peel away under the shadow of the overall fluidity. There is filler and a few parts that feel like they don't belong, but when they work their way up to a dramatic beat or turn, they nail it.

I gotta hand it to Chris for seeing this thing through the four years of lineup changes and delays that came in between Boards and Daylight. Without each other, these albums are lost and misunderstood; but together, they make something. That something isn't exactly all that grand or inspiring, but it is complete, and all three together really do feel like a journey. I didn't see any value before, but I get it now, and it makes me like Chris a whole lot more. One thing is for sure. I'll never question the creative integrity or ambition of this band, or accuse them of just going through the motions. It makes me more open minded about where this band can go from here.