  
After the Hardcore scene evolved and underwent
mitosis to create proper early Emo bands like
Rites of Spring and Jawbreaker everything changed
and Saves The Day with their phenomenal albums
Through Being Cool and Stay What You Are helped
usher in the new dawn of popular Pop-Punk/Emo
that has since peaked and endlessly morphed into
the dirty word it is today.
But more than ten years after forming and with
only one original member, Chris Conley, Daybreak
is a return to form, after a couple of disappointing
records, for one of the most influential bands
to come out of the scene. The final part in a
three album concept Daybreak follows 2005’s
Sound The Alarm and 2007’s Under The Boards
as an album about acceptance and the exploration
of pain, anger, and self-hatred.
With Chris Conley’s trademark high pitched
wail you are smothered in the quiver of authenticity
as he invites you into his lyrical mind to feel
his pain, “You say you’re seeing clearly,
you’re going to have a heart attack, because
I, because I keep on talking, sounding deranged
and desperate,” and it’s all encompassing.
Chris Conley’s vocal approach has always
been the main draw to Saves The Day and over the
past decade he hasn’t lost any of the gravitas
that made him so unique in the first place. He
sounds perversely feminine, innocent, young and
awkward, and contemplative, and like he takes
the world too seriously, but he’s the type
of poetic lyricist that is never afraid to wear
his heart on his bloody dripping sleeve and Conley
would probably delve back inside his chest and
write a stunning Pop song about what he found
there.
‘Living Without Love’ isn’t
just the first single from the album it’s
also the most upbeat track on offer here as a
progressive riff and mighty pounding drum beat
powers through two minutes of summery affection.
It’s a top down wind in your flowing hair
as the sun’s setting type song. It’s
a welcome break between melancholy melodies and
the icy blue sheen that covers the rest of the
record. The balladry of the electric-acoustic
‘O’ summarises the acceptance Conley
speaks of, “I think I’m starting to
see, the love I need is inside of me.” It’s
a humble track that sounds aware of its potential
to be bigger, but opts for guts over glory.
A sulky album born out of harsh realities Daybreak
is clearly a personal prophecy, a plan to move
on and pull him-self out of that phase, but he
doesn’t always follow his own rules.‘1984’
is easily the best track on the album with a moody
demeanour and a clean distorted guitar sound that
complements dark opening lyrics and feeling of
competition this song has. One of the more instantly
likeable numbers on offer it squanders its offer
of acceptance for schizophrenic sleaze that will
have you listening over and over.
If you think you know anything about ‘Emo’
then you’ll be expecting adolescent songs
moaning about girls and final song ‘Undress
Me’ is just that as Conley sings about holding
and loving, but he never whines about mistakes
and regrets. Instead sparse verses and a pumped
up middle section instil a sense of triumph and
determination to this track.
Of course fans will recognise Conley and his style,
but what’s new here is the rest of the band
and Arun Bali’s lead guitar is much fiercer
than what you might be used to from this simple
power chord band. He brings to them a new edginess
with his plucky more willingly experimental nature;
check out the riff around the 5:30 mark of the
epic album opener ‘Daybreak’. While
having an array of new musicians leaves Saves
The Day at the mercy of the talent they can find
they have managed to keep a sound that is distinctly
theirs while adopting flourishes that make this
album different to any other album they will make.
The problem with creating two such loved albums
at the start of your career means everything else
you do is scrutinised and compared and Saves The
Day may never create an album as good as eitherof
the aforementioned, but Daybreak is a record that
stands on its own—besides it’s the
closest they have come since.
3.5/5
Review by Lauren Mullineaux
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