Daybreak

Saves The Day, Daybreak, Razor & Tie

I have to admit that I lost a lot of interest in Saves the Day following the release of Stay What You Are.  Chris Conley was no longer the Lifetime-aping teen frontman lurching across the stage, and when he emerged as an awkward guitar wielding singer songwriter “experimenting” on In Reverie I jumped ship.  It wasn’t until his Two Tongues side project with Say Anything’s Max Bemis that I listened to Conley again, and I was fairly impressed.  The Peter Pan of pop punk seems not to have aged vocally, and the Conley/Bemis duo cranked out one heck of a catchy pop album. 

After catching Saves The Day in a support slot on this Summer’s The Get Up Kids tour, I was finally ready to be receptive to the band’s latest, Daybreak.  I’m glad I changed my mind as Daybreak is a pleasant pop gem that shows Conley has become a mature and optimistic pop crooner, who even flexes a little guitar god muscle (“Let It All Go”).  “Undress Me,” the album’s closer, is perhaps my favorite of the bunch here and leaves me wondering if this isn’t a Bemis-free b-side from the Two Tongues sessions. 

Apparently, Daybreak is the final chapter of an album trilogy Saves The Day began in 2006.  I don’t know anything about that.  What I do know is that while I’d still call for the older stuff if I were to see the band live again – “You Vandal” please – Daybreak is a solid effort.

Recommended For Fans Of: The Get Up Kids, Matthew Sweet, Two Tongues