In a perfect world, we would be free of cliches like “comeback album of the year,” or a “return to form,” but the ignorable fact is, phrases like these develop because they signify the filling of a void that’s created when something goes astray. SAVES THE DAY’s previous full-length, In Reverie, went about as far astray as a release could go without causing a band’s fanbase to deteriorate entirely. Although the album was divisive, and embarrassingly underpromoted by Dreamworks (due more from backround label shuffling than anything else), In Reverie was not so off-kilter that SAVES THE DAY turned up lame. When word surfaced that the band was writing new material and searching for a new record deal, something sparked a glimmer of hope that SAVES THE DAY’s “soul searching” had hit a wall post-In Reverie and that the band would embrace in some fashion the melodic punk/emo that put these guys on such solid ground in the first place. With such expectations looming large, and the rejuvenated energy that followed the band annoucing a second stint on Vagrant Records, it seemed like a very real possibility that Sound The Alarm was being setup as an all-or-nothing release. Either SAVES THE DAY was going to re-establish itself as one of the most important, relevant bands out there, or they were going to fade away, buried by the weight of being a band that seemingly had the world in its fingertips and then totally blew it. While Sound The Alarm lacks the instantaneous likability of the band’s breakthrough album Through Being Cool, this one’s a keeper, and does exactly what this band does best – pen snappy, head-nodding, emotional rock songs that toggle between infectious energy and dour theatrics… all assisted by killer guitar leads and distinctive lead vocals. In its 13 tracks, Sound The Alarm is meticulously crafted like a fine piece of Swiss machinery. Between the roaring, snotty grip of “The End,” the thick, immediacy of “Diseased,” the speed-bursting “Bones,” and the mood-breaking wishy-washy stylings of “Don’t Know Why,” this album displays roots from all of the band’s previous outings and connects them in a manner that is nearly seamless. A few more faster songs wouldn’t have hurt Sound The Alarm, but the band is in no worse shape for keeping in tune with the bread-and-butter melodramatic sing-alongs that dominated Stay What You Are. If there is any kind of disappointment to be found on Sound The Alarm, it’s in the painfully bland artwork. One would think that with so much riding on this album, the band would have committed more focus and effort in building the exterior trappings, but the reddish-orange motif, and stark insert booklet design all scream “last minute job.” Nonetheless, SAVES THE DAY have found their groove again on Sound The Alarm and this album’s all-out-in-the-open demeanor is a pleasure from start to finish.

Vagrant

www.vagrant.com