Saves The Day – Under The Boards

Saves the Day have been a band that I’ve been meaning to listen to. This is the first time I have heard anything by Saves the Day, but I have to admit that their new album, Under the Boards, sounds like a series of bipolar cycles.

The title track of the album sets up the concept of the album to the listener. With suicidal and tragic lyrics set to a natural minor key and an epic climax, “Under the Boards” is unfortunately followed by its antithesis “Radio.” “Radio” comes off as an antidepressant road trip with lyrics such as, “Once in a while, making you smile by singing with the radio.” The rest of the album continues on this infectious high, only to stumble into “When I’m Not There”, a breakup song. But just like any manic-depressive cycle, “Lonely Nights,” the sugary get back together song, follows “When I’m Not There,” raising the album to euphoric heights until the end when the listener is reminded of the Under the Boards theme.

Striking musical similarities occur during on this album as well. “Get Fucked Up” sounds like Jordan Pundik’s (New Found Glory) voice over the melody of The All-American Rejects‘ “Move Along,” especially during the line “Every time I think about you.” “Turning Over in My Tomb” is also relatively similar to At the Drive-In’s “Non-Zero Possibility.” Both songs have the same structure and tone, but I’ll give the benefit of the doubt and believe it is a genuine coincidence.

Despite these downfalls, Under the Boards has some points of merit. “Stay,” the only acoustic song on the album, experiments with a ¾ time signature and stands out from the rest of the songs. “Woe,” the best song on Under the Boards, is charged with enough emotional intensity that makes me want to jump in front of a moving train with lead singer Chris Conley.

Under the Boards isn’t by any means a bad album, but it also will not stand the test of time. Individually, all of the songs on Under the Boards are great, but collectively they lack the coherency of an album. Even though I felt like I’ve heard a few of the tracks before, it wasn’t enough to think that Saves the Day sequenced another existing song. If you are interested in acquiring Under the Boards, I recommend buying it used.