Under The Boards - Saves the Day
Metascore
60 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 7 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
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  1. All Music Guide
    70
    It may take multiple spins for a few songs to really find their footing with fans, but those people will surely be rewarded handsomely in the end.
  2. Alternative Press
    70
    In the end, this dark, penetrating album is a transitional record and should be viewed as such. [Dec 2007, p.172]
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  3. Delusions of Adequacy
    70
    Under the Boards, still doesn’t quite live up, it is their best since that timeless classic, "Stay What You Are."
  4. PopMatters
    60
    while Under the Boards may not be "Through Being Cool" part deux, it’s still a solid effort from a man that will never be able to escape his past--no matter how fast he may try to run.
  5. The A.V. Club
    50
    As usual, his nasal voice gets grating, but at least his band has returned to what it does best.
  6. Spin
    40
    Under the Boards, finds [Conley] in a surprisingly dark and newwavish mode, bobbing through spare, angular arrangements that overemphasize the off-key bleat that's his albatross as much as the band's signature.
  7. Boston Globe
    40
    Chris Conley's juvenile lyrics and whiney vocal tone submerge the band's music.

User Reviews

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User Score
6.9 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 7 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 1 out of 3
  1. ButtMan
    3
    what makes a "murky tone" "subversive"??? mowon. anyway, this band used to be amazing, but everything they put out after "stay what you are" is either awful or totally unimpressive. get the first three albums, forget the rest… Full Review »
  2. GabeJ
    9
    Under the Boards tempers the relentless drive of last year's Sound the Alarm (the 1st in the trilogy) with focused deliberation. This works on a conceptual level, as this chapter of the trilogy represents reflection, but more importantly it works on a musical level, resulting in some of the most well-crafted and rewarding songs in Saves The Day's catalog. Saves The Day succeeds in reaffirming its increasingly paradoxical trademark: refusing to settle into a comfortable pigeonhole while retaining its potent flavor of emotional pop-punk.… Full Review »
  3. BenL
    7
    Possibly one of Saves The Day's diverse offerings, Under The Boards sounds like a hybrid of the quirky-pop of In Reverie ("Radio") and last year's more aggressive Sound The Alarm ("Woe"). Though the tone of the album is, like most of their work, murky (even lead single "Can't Stay The Same" sounds somewhat subversive), there are genuinely enjoyable lighthearted moments early on in songs like "Lonely Nights" and potential single "Bye Bye Baby". In the end, the album is, as aforementioned, a transitional record but should not be discounted as it does stand on its own with several solid songs.… Full Review »
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