90s Hidden Gems: Through Being Cool by Saves the Day

I'm starting a new article series here on Vocal! I decided I wanted to write some articles about some of my favorite albums growing up. Today is day one of this writing journey, and I'm hoping I'll be able to keep this up for a while, because I have so many great albums I could talk about! This week, I'm looking at the classic pop punk album "Through Being Cool" by Saves the Day.

Through Being Cool- Saves the Day (1999):

Saves the Day was formed in New Jersey in 1997. The original lineup of the band featured lead vocalist and guitarist Chris Conley, Arun Bali, Rodrigo Palma, and drummer Dennis Wilson. However, in 2020, Dennis Wilson left the band, and Claudio Rivera became the new drummer. Their impact on early pop punk and emo music of the early 2000s is an important piece of history that shouldn't be forgotten.

Through Being Cool was the beginning of great things. Their second studio album, it was a turning point for Saves the Day. Their heavy New Jersey punk sound shines through in this album, but the album also reflects the beginning of a transition to their sound, tapping into the emotional nature of what we now call emo music of the early 2000s. Lyrics like "heart is on the floor, why don't you step on it?" bring a new level of depth and emotion to their songs that other bands did not have at the time. This made them unique and truly years ahead of their time in regard to lyrics and sound.

Later albums such as Stay What You Are (2001) show how the band grew from this small town punk sound to something even bigger that influenced an entire generation of kids, with hit songs such as "At Your Funeral" making big impacts on the indie music scene for years and decades to come. Of all their albums, Through Being Cool is one that stays with me as a personal favorite because every song on this one, in my opinion, is so damn good. There is an energy on this particular album, to me, that is very different than the others. Perhaps it is the way they started finding their particular sound at this point that makes it so special.

The most popular tracks on the album include hits like "Shoulder to the Wheel", "Rocks Tonic Juice Magic", "Holly Hox, Forget Me Nots" and "Through Being Cool". The extended version of the 1999 album also has a mixture of live recordings and basement demos that truly show what hard work and dedication can make possible. Saves the Day has always been that kind of band, to me. They weren't afraid of trying different things, they weren't afraid of talking about the really deep and dark things. This led the way for so many other bands during the time to capture that same energy.

If you are looking for a new band to get into, I recommend listening to Saves the Day's discography. They have some good stuff, and some stuff that is alright, but I will say that the two albums that really make this band so memorable to me are Through Being Cool and Stay What You Are. If you like sounds similar in sound to Green Day, early pop punk, and a mixture of The Early November style vocals, you will love them.

As for me, when I listen to this album, I can still picture myself as a teenager in my old bedroom, popping this in to my 5 CD changing stereo and blasting it all afternoon while laying on my bed and writing sappy teenage poetry. There's something truly beautiful in that; the way that certain music, and certain songs can take us back into the past, to memories that are fond. I have the most fond memories with music.

So, if you are up for something cool, or even something different, I recommend you to give this album a listen. In my book, it's a solid 8 out of 10. I only say 8 because Stay What You Are is a 10. Which reminds me, maybe I will write about that album next time around!

What is your favorite album from 1999? Let me know in the comments!

"Even now that you're not here , I climb these mountains of houses every night , I say your name, wish I could have done things right."- All-Star Me, Saves the Day