Saves The Day - Sound The Alarm (Advance) - (6/10)

Well the alarm was certainly raised today when Saves The Day's new album 'Sound The Alarm' leaked. We have a copy on our hands and after it had cooled down we gave it a spin...

'Head For The Hills' (8/10) kicks off the new album, a punchy track with a solid beat and vocals that ooze aggression. The stop start beat of this song is strange at first but within a minute your heads moving and you're hooked. A mere 2.50 in length its just enough to keep you gripped but not get bored of it. A loving change of pace leads the song into closing beats, a solid song overall with a nice guitar riff to end the track. 'The End' (4/10) is in a sense much like Head For The Hills in its aggressive vocals and punchy intro but this soon fades to a very different beat that once again gets the feet moving. Nothing really that special and just under 2 minutes in length this seems to lack an edge to it. 'Shattered' (9/10) has a nice heavier beat to introduce it, with vocals that seem to be sung with more emotion than the previous too, the vocals rising beautifully in passionate moments with the heavy underbeat kicking nicely. A stunning song that has very nice backing voals in parts. 'Eulogy' (7/10) starts seemingly softer than the others with a nice and soft vocal introduction to it also which soon builds to another foot tapping classic beat. Not really standing out to me this song is still solid and catchy with a lovingly crafted fade out. 'Dying Day' (4/10) is another so-so song really to me, catchy beat and solid lyrics but it just doesn't really scream much to me. '34' (9/10) has a nice range of vocals being delivered with true passion and a thrusting beat to back it all well. The guitar really being played stunningly and making many a nice appearance on this song and really has a fantastic riff during the middle. A powerful song sung from the heart. 'Say You'll Never Leave' (8/10) has a fast paced intro with lyrics screamed from the soul from the begininng. This song really feels full of emotion and near desperation at points. Another song that is really outstanding on this album and will carry multiples playbacks on any Saves The Day fans playlist. 'Diseased' (9/10) is a beautifully sung song with a really different feel to it, the guitar still being lovingly played and the vocals seeming to pour out with passion. 'Don't Know Why' (8/10) has a nice acoustic feeling intro, full of moving vocals and a soft and stunning underbeat to it. Picking up slightly this song still has a haunting feel to it and continues to focus on the vocals above all else. 'Sound The Alarm' (9/10) kicks off nicely with a different beat whilst keeping the grungey vocals. Still this song seems to has a more feel good sound to it than i thought it would. A memorable title track that once again has a gorgeous guitar riff at the centre of it. 'Bones' (5/10) is a much more upbeat song with a funky beat getting the foot tapping from the begininng although i must say this fast beat does get slightly tedious towards the end and the vocals seem to go a little to whiney for my liking. 'Delusional' (5/10) is another fast paced song doesn't really stand out as that different from Bones until the backing vocals kick in, turning into a less whiney song, still not majorly impressed with this song though overall. 'Hell Is Here' (6/10) screams emo whining to me i have to say i'm afraid and getting to this point has been hard at times although this song on it's own is pretty nice with a beat that does get into your head although after the previous 12 songs i have to say i am getting a small headache from the constant whineing feeling that seems to surround a fair few of these songs.

Ok so i'll summarise: Ok in small doses although this album really would give me a headache after too many listens in a row, it's just whineing alot that gets to me really. Some good solid stand alone songs but in conclusion i feel less time should have been spent making a 13 song cd with 2minute-odd songs on it and more time on a few carefully selected longer songs. Overall (6/10)

Dan

-MDS-