Saves The Day

Daybreak

This review originally ran in AP 279.

Four years in the making, Saves The Day’s seventh full-length has finally arrived. With any album delayed this long, it’s hard not to feel slightly let down, as listeners will have built up the release in their own minds. As any longtime STD fan will tell you, preconceptions are a real bitch. Daybreak is the next chapter in the peeling back of frontman Chris Conley’s psyche—in fact, it’s possibly the most honest collection yet—with songs ranging from multi-part, genre-hopping suites (the title track) to sultry ballads (“Chameleon”) and chirpy pop nuggets that sound like an In Reverie cut sped up to 45 rpm (“Living Without Love”). Conley’s voice continues to be the Benjamin Button of punk rock, sounding younger with every release, but the unsung hero of Daybreak is new guitarist Arun Bali, who expertly embraces STD’s classic sound while adding plenty of accents all his own (“Z”).

Razor & Tie http://www.razorandtie.com

“Deranged & Desperate”