Do you ever get that feeling? You know the one I mean, the one that smacks you in the chest right after a breakup or a fight with your best friend. This feeling makes you want to crawl into a dark tunnel rock back and forth on your heels and moan miserably until your throat is ragged but your heart is lighter? What are experiencing, my friend, is a Saves The Day moment, or to be more specific, a Sound The Alarm moment.

The newest album by the legendary Jersey based emo band is packed with moaning vocals and powerful riffs. After starving their fans for nearly two years, the band finally settled on Vagrant as their newest label and sat down to record. Their sound, which has been evolving gracefully over the years, is very different from what listeners have grown accustomed to on their previous record Stay What You Are. In fact, except for the fact that Chris Conley’s vocals have become both more forceful and poppier, ...Alarm sounds more like the earlier STD albums. Whether this change is a positive one depends on the listener.

Lyrically the band has stayed the same, grinding out the metaphors that are both violent and creative; STD has always had a flair for theoretical mutilation. However, some of the tracks tend to meander, lacking the sharp focus they possessed in Stay What You Are. Songs with similar themes and lyrics tend to run into each other, like a too-wet water colour painting, which makes it difficult for the listener to pay attention. While the first two tracks ‘Head for the Hills’ and ‘The End’ are completely arresting, the songs after that don’t have quite the same energy. The album is revived at the fifth track ‘Dying Day’ but shortly after that ‘Say You’ll Never Leave’ and ‘Diseased’ (tracks 7 and 8) would have been better condensed into the same song. In both, Conley punches hard at the word ‘Please’ in the chorus, making things seem suddenly very repetitive.

Overall, Sound the Alarm is not a bad record. It’s interesting to hear what STD has done with their sound and almost any song will get your feet tapping. On the other hand, just like moaning in the dark, Sound the Alarm is miserable and overstated, and therefore, not for everyone.

You can check out their website at www.savestheday.com.