Listening to Saves the Day’s new CD, Ups and Downs, is enough to make one wonder why everyone hates New Jersey, and almost makes it okay to forgive the state for Jason Alexander. Almost.
That’s right, folks, there’s emo, then there’s Saves the Day. Whether it is Chris Conley’s nasal-challenged voice or those weird lyrics about liver potions and awkward saws, Saves the Day has always stood apart from its peers. It’s a little bit hardcore, a little bit emo, and a whole lot of kick-ass.
With this disc, the listener goes behind the curtains with some unreleased songs and B-sides. Ups and Downs is technically a new CD, but the songs that populate its 40-odd minutes are all older tracks, most of them written before Conley was 20. Most of the songs are from the Can’t Slow Down and Through Being Cool era. There are a few songs from the acoustic E.P. Sorry I’m Leaving and one track from the Stay What You Are outtakes. Hidden among these are such gems as “1959,” a 30-second spaz ballad and a few covers, including “Clash City Rockers,” which proves that the Clash would have made a top-notch emo band.
The real treasures here, however, are the early tracks, recorded when the members were juniors and seniors in high school. These songs are rougher than Reno Raines’ stubble, but they give a glimpse at what these guys used to be and exhibits the sparks of what they would become.
Formed in 1997 by Chris Conley and Bryan Newman, the lineup was later filled out by Ted Alexander, David Soloway and Eben D’Amico. The early CDs, apart from the acoustic E.P., were fast and aggressive, with barely a song over three minutes, but with 2001’s Stay What You Are, Saves the Day showed that it was content to do anything but. From then on, its sound has continued to mature and become less spastic, but has done so without losing any of the passion of the group’s earlier recordings.
The release of 2003’s In Reverie saw the departure of guitarist Ted Alexander and original drummer Bryan Newman. Today, Saves the Day is more popular than ever and tours with acts like Taking Back Sunday, which has done much to introduce this amazing band to a wider audience.
Altogether, Ups and Downs is a mixed bag, with a little bit of everything. Mixed only in sound, though, because every song here is a winner. This is a look inside the ground floor of a band that will only get better. From “I Think I’ll Quit,” when the band was Sefler, to “Ups and Downs,” a B-side that barely missed landing on Stay What You Are, there are no strikeouts on this album. Anyone who likes Saves the Day casually should fall in love with this disc, and those who were in love already will not be disappointed. Jon Bon who? That’s right. Saves the Day is here to stay, and now we know they rocked all along.
Grade: A