Saves the Day

Those who thought STD's Stay What You Are disc was a departure, are likely to flip out entirely after a few listens to the band's fourth full-length. In Reverie finds the quartet moving even farther afield from the speedy melodic pop-core of their first two discs. But where Stay sounded like a young band recently turned onto Promise Ring CDs trying to emulate a sound, this disc finds the band’s songwriting stronger and more confident. The opening strains and chorus of "Anywhere With You" or "Morning in the Moonlight" are about as close to simple rock as you're likely to find here. The rest of the disc is a delightfully giddy pop romp that sounds at times like XTC and at others like the Beach Boys and sometimes like both at the same time. New maturity is not limited to the music, though, as Chris Conley's nasally love-long wailing takes on new depth. Fans that stopped listening to STD after Through Being Cool are unlikely to be lured back into the fan fold with this disc. Their loss. Those fans with an open mind or anyone with appreciation for clever pop songs will simply melt.