I am completely inspired by Saves the Day's 2003 release 'In Reverie'. It's absolutely stunning.
It received a bunch of flack because it was a very dynamic shift from all of the other Saves the Day material. My biggest fixation is what a transition it was from their previous work. 'Stay What You Are' (2001) was a very big shift as well - towards better production and finer instrumentation. The biggest leap was their shift from the fast driving music of their older punk albums. Both 'I'm Sorry I'm Leaving' and 'Through Being Cool' show a very distinct punk sound, with fast moving drumming bits and tons of power chords. Chris Conley said that 'In Reverie' was inspired by heavy listens to the Beatles. Conley even went on to say in retrospect, that this was his very favourite album.
Chris Conley's vocals are very different. They're significantly softer than in previous albums. Everything, instrumentation especially are a bunch more melodic, it's as if they were on drugs while making this album. There's a calmness that no other Saves the Day album possesses to date.
In 2003, they went on tour with Grandaddy. I will always remember it as the show that I was able to easily move around at. The attendance was so low that I could move around at ease. It was a bit of a weird mash up as far as line ups go, but it really showed Saves the Day's transition into a less punky world.
This really worked against them because shortly after their release of 'In Reverie' they were dropped from their major label debut - Interscope. Apparently, the label went belly up shortly after.
This album is another bench mark album because it was the last album that two core Saves the Day members were to appear on together. Bassist Eben D'Amico left the band shortly after - as well as Dave Soloway the guitarist left a couple of albums later. To me, this was the last true Saves the Day album to be released. Everything after was very Chris Conley.
Saves the Day's biggest weakness is their lack of consistency. This has forced their dedicated fans on a roller coaster of sounds. I personally love the albums released from 1999-2003. They have consistently released albums every two years. I feel as though the band comfortably found their sound in the album 'Stay What You Are' and ambitiously started to explore other niches with 'In Reverie'. Like a confused fifteen year old girl, Conley picked up his aggressive sound in the later years that he nurtured well as a teenager. For this reason, Conley, not Saves the Day, have completely lost my loyalty as a fan.
1. "Anywhere With You"
This tune served as the band's first single off of the album. I was never really drop dead crazy about it, but it has some old Saves the Day elements to it that I really love. It's significantly rougher than the other songs on the album.
2. "What Went Wrong"
This song is totally weird. I'm not sure I know what's going on in it. I feel like it was just a bunch of odd words slapped together. Like "Molly shook like a fish dangling on a line..." This is definitely one of my least favourite songs on the album.
3. "Driving in the Dark"
From one of my least favourites to one of my very favourites. I am a hopeless romantic when it comes to music. So, with that being said, to have a song that's chorus reads - "Ever since I first saw you, standing in the dark frozen night, I've been blind, I'm driving in the dark towards you, not stopping until I catch the sunlight in my eyes. And nothing's left to hide". Complete sap. This song is catchy as hell though in my sappy defense.
4. "Rise"
I will forever and ever remember this as my friend Nicole's favourite song off of the album. I think anything I felt for this album was because she felt something for it. I like the beginning, it's a bit of a weird guitar vocal mimic. I think the song loses serious weight nearing the end.
5. "In Reverie"
This song's really lousy. It's definitely a song I love for nostalgic purposes. This song has very little effect in retrospect. I will always love it for personal reasons. Oddly enough, this is the song they gave most emphasis to. I have no idea why.
6. "Morning in the Moonlight"
This is a decent song. It's upbeat and happy, along with chiming bells nearing the end. This song is heavily based on power chords which it loses a lot of it's greatness on. I do really like the driving guitar that catches the power chords at the end of the tiny chorus. This song is a very Dave Soloway song, it's completely driven by the guitar. Chris' vocals are greatly overshadowed by the driving guitar line that was intended to follow his words.
7. "Monkey"
Amazing transition. I love the ending of Dave Soloway's guitar work bleeding into the ease of the guitar bits on this track. The opening guitar lines remind me a bunch of the opening guitar bits on "This is Not An Exit". They're incredibly simple, with Chris' vocals slowly integrating in as the song builds momentum.
As for the content of this song. Again a little bit of the dreamy, oddball lyrics that almost every song on the album possesses. "Drop your things and burn your clothes. Why we're here no one knows, Watch the bombs explode." - again really odd lyrics. In listening to this song, I have no idea what's going on. I however think that lyrics mean nothing to both this song and the album in its entirity.
Great Dave Soloway guitar solo around the 1:45 point.
8. "In My Waking Life"
I think upon first hearing this album, it was this song that I really loved. I'm not really sure why.
I can say for now, the guitar bits are very Dave Soloway. He's a fantastic lead guitarist, ridiculously innovative while upholding his trademark sound. This song showcases it really well. Chris Conley upholds the easy guitar lines that parallel Eben D'Amico's bass lines while Dave noodles away.
This is a very '60s song. I think that's one of the alluring points for me. I really love how Chris Conley's voice sounds on this song - it's very smooth and fluid.
Around 1:52, there's a terrific drum bit that is very subtle - it sort of serves as a dialogue between the guitar.
This song upholds the album's motif of dreaming and the act of being 'in reverie'.
9. "She"
The worst song on the entire album. But for some odd reason I know every word, which only reflects that I listened to it seven years ago.
It's a love ditty that I feel he tried to emulate McCartney on with very little success. I still stick to my guns in saying that Paul McCartney writes a love song like no other individual.
I'm not sure why the clunked this song in the middle of the album. It seems like an outro tune.
The final words in the tune are "drink melon sky." There's definitely a reoccurring theme of "melon" on this album.
10. "Where Are You?"
An odd transition from a mellow song like "She". It serves as the punch in the belly for such a sappy song before.
This is a great song, for it's former Saves the Day punk energy. It's different because it's completely harnessed. There are very distinct pauses in this song that are dynamic. I really love the instrumentation on this song. I am not listening to it for the lyrics because yet again they're pretty weak, but the push pull sounds of the instruments.
"Moon and melon sunset" - ah ha, another melon, yet again tucked at the end of a song.
11. "Wednesday the Third"
I love this song for the lyrics. Chris sings in sync with Dave Soloway's guitar lines throughout the entire song. It's very melodic and very easy to listen to.
I always found it funny that the chorus sings "Oh, Haven't you heard the news. Surprise a rise, opening up to you." The "rise" bit throws me off a ton because there's tune by that title on the album. I feel as though he wanted to call this one "Rise Pt. 2".
In a closer listen with headphones, I caught that the first eight seconds' sounds shift from right to left. This is definitely a bonus for the song. I found myself repeating the first eight seconds over and over.
This song is definitely one of the stronger tunes of the album for every aspect imaginable.
12. "Tomorrow Too Late"
I began really liking this song for the last few lines muttered at the end of the song - "I need you now be my light. Tomorrow is much too late I need you now".
This is a '60s song. I feel as though he really tries to achieve this at the beginning, and they actually succeed big.
The lyrics are total fluff, but the single line "Tomorrow too late" holds the song together. It sort of gives the impression that something's missing, or that something was lost.
I really like what Chris Conley does with his voice in this song. He dances with it a bit. The beginning chunk has a very distinct sound and then he launches into the "When was the last time, I held you all through the night..." - which has a much more aggressive feel to it.
I love that this song is so lyrically simple. There's really not much to it at all. For every weakness that "What Went Wrong" has, this song compensates for it. Few words and stronger instrumentation.
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