#188
Saves the Day - Stay What You Are (Vagrant, 2001)
I'm sure this will be the first entry in this series to raise some serious eyebrows over its inclusion, but probably not the last. Most people have, by this point, dismissed Saves the Day to the bargain bins of emo history, unfairly lumping them in with the countless bands from the turn of the century milking the earnest, heart-on-sleeve thing for all it was worth. The problem with such a dismissal (as opposed to doing the same for a band like, say, Dashboard Confessional) is that Saves the Day actually contain a little soul and more than a little musical talent. Though they are still a going concern as of 2010, it is highly unlikely that they'll ever reach, let alone top, this 2001 high water mark. While most of the lyrics do fall squarely into the navel-gazing valley of lovelorn teenage male angst, the musical performances are spry, lively, and allow something to focus on besides Chris Conley's girl problems. But even Conley strikes upon some great imagery from time-to-time, particularly on this gem from "All I'm Losing Is Me" - "the moon hangs like the blade of an axe tonight / and it's poised to drop sometime soon enough". Despite a couple of significant stumbling blocks, Conley's voice may be a bit much for some people and there's a weird misogynistic turn in "As Your Ghost Takes Flight" that rubs me the wrong way, this is an excellent example of pop-punk done very well. Fans of the genre would be well-served by giving this another listen and seeing how the band helped bridge the gap from the Get-Up Kids to Fall Out Boy.
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