Saves the Day - Sound the Alarm

One of the few bands still around in the emo genre that doesn't make you want to vomit - Saves the Day have returned at a very crucial stage of their career. Having sold over half a million albums, and with their two previous efforts 'Stay What You Are' and 'In Reverie' being masterpieces of emo-power-pop, Saves the Day found themselves in limbo between major labels which caused confusion, anger and frustration that risked the band's future. Luckily they survived and the result of the trauma, 'Sound the Alarm', is a fierce and powerful creation filled with spite that is truly coloured by personal struggle, self-loathing and disdain for the world in general. If at this point you are still unfamiliar with the band, then keep your eyes wide open for upcoming U.K. shows later this year. They will undoubtedly be an opportunity to experience one of America's most talented bands to survive the remarkably long fast-food styled ethos of the music industry, plus they blow Panic! At the Disco off the stage in a single breath. [Chris Nordeng]