Save Your Breath - There Used To Be A Place For Us (Album Review)

It's been a great spring and summer for pop/punk. The laundry list of great releases from artists like The Wonder Years, The Story So Far, Man Overboard, etc... has no doubt kept the summer upbeat for fans of the genre. As we head into the fall the trend seems to be continuing as we see releases from other notable bands coming up. One such band is UK pop/punk band Save Your Breath who will release their new album There Used To Be A Place For Us in October. I was lucky enough to get a chance to review this album and let me tell you what. It's one heck of an album.

I was a big fan of the group’s debut album Vices was one of my favorite pop/punk albums the year it came out. I thought it would be nearly impossible for the group to have a follow-up that was quite as strong. It turns out Save Your Breath has succeeded in doing what I thought would be hard for the group. They've written an album that is just as good if not better than their debut. The songwriting is a little more refined and it sounds perfectly produced. The drums sound fantastic on the album. Vocalist Kristian has continued to improve in his vocal ability and it really sounds like he put a ton of effort into the vocals on the album.  The band is hitting all the right notes and it's song after song of great melodies and catchy music.

I think if you are a fan of the genre then this will be the perfect pop/punk album for fall. Pop/punk which usually dominates mostly in the summer months can often be hard to fit the vibe for fall. However, I think Save Your Breath succeed in that respect with this album. Tracks "Skin And Bones" and the title track "There Used To Be A Place For Us" sound like they would be great songs for the fall season. There's no denying that the album has a lot of really great, catchy songs that would be good for any season.  I really like the balance of sound found on the album. "Harrow Road" might be one of my favorites-if not my favorite song-from the album. It’s a super catchy sing-a-longable song and I really like the lyrics. The chorus is really strong on the song.

"Touchpaper" is another really good song on the album. I'd heard the song before as it appeared on the band's last EP. It has a great melody and the guitar work sounds really good. I'm not usually a fan of when a band includs songs from previous EP's on new albums (there are a couple songs on this album that where on the bands previous EP). However, in the case of "Touchpaper" it really needed to be on the album as it is a great song and it really finds its place on this album really well. The last track is really interesting and offers a totally different vibe for the album. It has a really laid back spacey vibe. I also can't help but really like the song and applaud the band for pulling the track off and finding a way to close the album that really adds something to the album.

This album proves there is still a place for Save Your Breath and it's at the top with some of the better new pop/punk groups of the genre. This is a really good album and it's a great listen. If you were a fan of the band’s debut album Vices this is a great follow-up. It shows how the band is refining their potential and creating their best album so far. Don't sleep on this one. Check this album out because you will not be disappointed. This one will surely find a high spot on my favorite albums of the year list.