Saves the Day "Stay What You Are"

Originally released in 2001, "Stay What You Are" marked a shift in Saves The Day's energized pop punk/Jersey emo of their first two albums to a more melodic sound, characterized by slower ballads like "Freakish," "Nightingale," and "This Is Not An Exit." The band worked with celebrated Elliott Smith producer Rob Schnapf and "Stay What You Are" turned out to be their most commercially successful album to date. There are traces of the band's earlier sound, like "See You" and "Certain Tragedy," but the pop-punk edginess is smoothed over with sparkling guitars and singer Chris Conley's saccharine melodies, and some of the more frenetic moments break out into sugary singalong passages, like "At Your Funeral" and album closer "Firefly." Now available again on colored vinyl with a gatefold cover.