New Jersey pop punk outfit Saves the Day will release their fourth album, In Reverie, this September.

Before entering a Los Angeles studio to record the set with Rob Schnapf and Doug Boehm, who also worked on Saves the Day's last record, 2001's Stay What You Are, the band road tested several new songs in London. The results were encouraging. "All the kids were pogo-ing to them, so that was a cool sign," says lead singer Chris Conley.

In Reverie sees the band exploring new musical directions -- Conley points to "Cactus Stomp," which, he says, has a "dance feel, like a Jackson 5 vibe." Another new track, "What Went Wrong," chronicles the story of a kid being strip-searched by the cops even though he's done nothing wrong.

Is this a new political direction for the band? "Nah, I made it up," says Conley. "I'm not trying to say anything with it or anything. It's funny."

KIRK MILLER
(June 10, 2003)