Sound the Alarm

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ALBUM INFORMATION

Total Tracks: 13   Total Length: 35:04

eMusic Review

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Jon Wiederhorn

eMusic Contributor

04.22.11
Passionate punk that's desperate, despairing and tuneful.
Label: Vagrant Records

As one of the pioneers of emo, Saves the Day created a catalogue of whiny melodic punk in the late '90s that inspired My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy and many others. But in 2003, the band recorded a more straightforward pop album that was largely rejected by its fans. So, for Sound the Alarm, the group has returned to the more caustic sounds of its early years. Regardless of whether the move is a reacceptance of some true musical vision or a blatant effort to win back the former flock, there's no questioning the strength of these 13 songs, which are equally desperate, despairing and tuneful. "Shattered" rides a loping bass line into a chorus of scrawling guitars and sneering vocals, "Dying Day" is a jangly cross between Green Day and the Clash; "Don't Know Why" is a sparse, aching vehicle of undistorted guitars and echoey effects colored with Beach-Boys style harmonies. Even when frontman Chris Conley spouts emo-banter like "I'm sick to my gut from the poison I drank to forget" ("Eulogy") or "Sew my lips together so I won't have to say a word" ("Say You'll Never Leave") Saves the Day never sound forced… read more »

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Solid

BrianInHampton

This was a highly anticipated album being that the last release from these boys came 3 years prior. They give the Stooges and the Damned as major influences for this album which explains the major departure from In Reverie, especially with the lineup changes. If you're new to this band I suggest starting with "Through Being Cool" (not on emusic unfortunately) and "Stay What You Are" before graduating to their newer stuff. Enjoy!

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Pretty Good

radbirts

I happen to enjoy this album, and don't really enjoy the old albums. Just my personal preference though. This one is definitely more modern than the other albums from these guys. However, not at all Brit-Pop, as someone noted earlier. I enjoy Brit-Pop myself, and I know it when I hear it, this is not it. I happen to like the lead singer's voice (I can't recall his name), it's different than you average, generic voice.

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different.. but good

msjennachaos

i listened to saves the day years back and was in love with them.. i kind of phased away from them but i heard this new album and was completely blown away. I could hardly recognize them, but i feel that it is still saves the day and even though the sound has changed alot i have so much respect for them, i saw them for the first time in concert last week at a normal and an acoustic set.. both were amazing and even if its not the same they deserve so much respect.

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Give it a bit

JRocK

This is not your typical I love it the first time I hear it cd. The vocals are different, the arrangements are different, and the feeling is different than your typical Saves the Day. After my first listen something hooked me and I had to figure out what it was. Turns out this album was beautifully written and produced. I can't stop listening to it, and feel this is the best album since "Through Being Cool". "Sound the Alarm" has pieces of what made all of their albums great and more. The best track that demonstrates this is "Bones"

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god awful

chu

Unlike many, I loved In Reverie and saw it as an acceptable re-invention. But this, is just god awful. Chris' voice is as disgusting as any high school wannabe's. Also I would expect more out of the bassist from Glassjaw. To top it off, it is filled with more STD cliche lyrics: "got a grenade stuck in your teeth and you're pulling at the pin"-stay what you are "got a grenade in my mouth and my finger on the pin ready to rip it out." Game Over, time to retire.

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IT SUCKS...and that's being nice...

xjmwx

I LOVED most every STD song from: Can't Slow Down, Through Being Cool and Stay What You Are. I like several on In Reverie. This CD is obnoxious. I listened to two tracks and realized that they're trying to be something they're not and it just doesn't work for them. Chris is ultra-whiney and the songs just aren't well-written. If you can borrow a copy, listen to it. Do yourself a favor though and don't waste your money buying it or your valuable emusic downloads to get it. Sorry STD. :(

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better, but still lame

AmishBobATL

Do yourself a favor, get their first two albums and call it quits.

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Not as Bad as Everyone is Saying

Simcharaba

OK, I agree with most folks that this CD is not as good as some of their earlier ones. That does NOT mean that it is not worth listening to or downloading. On the good side, the guitars have more of an edge to them than on earlier Saves the Day recordings, and I like that. The songs are angrier, and that may explain the different sound, but I don't think the lead singer's voice is really made to handle this kind of anger, so he comes off sounding kind of whiney. I definitely do not agree with those who say that the band should "stay what they were." A band that does that never grows and it soon sounds like a caricature of itself - that's largely what the Stones, and U2, and REM, have turned into. Good for Saves the Day that they are trying to stretch and change their sound, even if this CD isn't where I think they will end up.

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Unbelievably awful!

jan

I used to love Saves The Day earlier albums because of the highly emotional heart wenching vocals against fast aggressive punk-like music, but in this album, he sounds like the british band Suede. Not only that, it's like a british pop album. This is absolutely nothing close to their old stuffs, so I don't know what the other reviewers are talking about. I am VERY disappointed.

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It's easy to throw rocks...

Ezra

Let me start by saying this is a really good album. Saves the Day is in the unfortunate position of having written a classic and knowing they will never make it out from under the shadows of Stay What You Are. In Reverie actually had quite a few brilliant songs and seemed to represent a new direction for the band, the only downfall being that Chris's vocals were treated very strangely on that album and it took a lot of the emotion and energy out of the delivery of the lyrics - which is what made Stay What You Are so great. On the new album his vocals are back - which would have been enough. Unfortunately it feels a bit like they overcompensated by "rocking out" the entire time. I really like this album and I know it will get a lot of listens...but I would have preferred to see them continue in the direction that In Reverie was taking them - then I would have expected a long career instead of the one final album that I now think they have left in them...

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They Say All Media Guide

After somewhat alienating fans by flexing their indie rock muscles on 2003′s In Reverie, it seems that Saves the Day want to reclaim their stake to the emocore throne. Whether or not a conscious reaction to the mixed response of their last (though admittedly solid) album, Sound the Alarm harks back to the aggressive pop-punk nature of their Through Being Cool days, but ya know, five years more mature. Chris Conley’s voice is as distinctive as ever — walking that fine line between endearing and annoying — but somehow now invokes a slight likeness to Our Lady Peace’s Raine Maida mixed with a Sid Vicious-esque sneer. “Head for the Hills” sufficiently sets both the cynical mood and quick pace for the album ahead with its thick, understated bassline and punchy disposition that fiercely proclaims “And if I die tonight and go to Hell/I wonder will I see you?” As such, Saves the Day certainly haven’t lost their knack for crafting the perfect singalong pop song for bitterness and heartache altogether presented in a gleaming package. Morbid, often bloody, imagery is still present amidst emotive lines (“I’ll cut out my throat and I’ll eat it raw/And drown in the blood as it fills my lungs”); thus one advantage is revealed to having a hand in defining a genre — the gory lines come off as clever instead of clichéd and annoying. And while bouncy numbers like “The End,” “Bones,” and “Dying Day” show Saves the Day re-creating what they do best, the unhurried backdrop of the compelling “Don’t Know Why” and “Sound the Alarm” are affecting songs that should grow on listeners to lasting satisfaction. While Sound the Alarm is enjoyable enough, it still doesn’t reach the level of excellence reached on Stay What You Are. The latter album had more diversity and memorable moments than Sound the Alarm’s 13 tracks put together. With hopes set too high for an emo masterpiece that somehow blended In Reverie’s pensive experimentation and Stay What You Are’s sparkling nature on a pop-punk canvas, Sound the Alarm is ultimately just another good Saves the Day record. But hey, what’s really wrong with that? – Corey Apar

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