Originally released only at Saves the Day tour stops, Bug Sessions Volume 1 is so far above and beyond most EPs of its type. It consists of reworked acoustic versions of songs from Saves the Day’s first 4 albums (and one from their B-side album) done with the whole band. While this may sound mundane and run of the mill, the execution is nearly flawless.
It’s refreshing that the band decided not to do the typical, “well it’s acoustic, so let’s slow it down” thing that often plagues acoustic rock songs. All the tracks keep a quick pace and pack a punch because of it. Essential to the drive is Pete Parada drumming on this record. The drum sounds he gets are golden. They mesh so perfectly with the acoustic sound, especially the crashes and rides.
Bug Sessions Volume 1 begins with “Certain Tragedy” and “In My Waking Life”, two tales of disconnect that showcase the band’s talent at putting together a more interesting musical arrangement than most of its peers cannot touch. After a version of “Freakish”, maybe Saves the Day’s best known song, that actually is uptempo from the original, the album really gets to it’s high point.
The one-two punch of “You Vandal” and the fantastic “Sell All My Clothes, I’m Off To Heaven” hit all the right notes. On this version of “Sell All My Clothes, I’m Off To Heaven” it’s just Conley and the his guitar, which allows him to reach some of his lyrical and emotional highs. The EP wraps up with “My Sweet Fracture” and “Jodie”, which are atypical choices to be converted from their electric originals, but both turn out to work swimmingly.
The most striking this is that, with the exception of “Freakish”, every track on Bug Sessions Volume 1 over the original album versions of the tunes. That is really saying something, because this is a collection of some of Saves the Day’s best songs. These acoustic versions are just that good.
A point of contention that that can’t be ignored is lead singer Chris Conley’s voice on this EP. It is far more nasally and whiny than on any earlier release from the band. There is not the smoothness that is found on their typical studio efforts, which is probably do in large part to the very bare bones production of this disc. Conley’s vocals, along with the ultra-emo lyrics might be enough to turn some listeners away from Bug Sessions Volume 1. The voice certainly adds to the inherent emo nature in Saves the Day’s lyrics, for better or for worse. It’s really a situation that I could understand people loving or hating.
I adore this EP. It stayed in my car’s CD player for an estimated 85% of the time during the summer of 2006 and routinely finds its way back there. As long as you don’t have some preexisting hatred for Saves the Day then you should definitely own Bug Sessions Volume 1.
Sadly, it is likely that this will be the last good release by Saves the Day. Their two most recent LPs, Sound the Alarm and Under the Boards, are too bad for even a fan to appreciate, and the followup EPs Bug Sessions Volume 2 & 3 were just unspectacular recordings of a live acoustic show instead of beautifully reworked tunes found on Volume 1.
Review Score: 9.0
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