Save Your Breath
There Used to Be a Place for Us
Release Date: Oct 7, 2013
Genre(s): Pop/Rock
Record label: N/A
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Album Review: There Used to Be a Place for Us by Save Your Breath
Fairly Good, Based on 3 Critics
Based on rating 3/5
The flag for emotive pop punk with genuine heft, intelligence and guts has been flown impressively high of late. The likes of The Story So Far and The Wonder Years are leading a US charge which, if it hasn’t quite kicked the door to the mainstream in yet, is certainly rattling the hinges. But we can’t all ride longboards along the beach all day and hang out at Warped Tour so it is good to see a fair amount of domestic talent taking the bull by the horns too.
Based on rating 6/10
'This slots comfortably into the folder marked Perfectly Acceptable 2013 Pop-Punk.' The problem with releasing a great debut full-length is – and always will be – topping the damn thing. With that in mind, it’s perhaps understandable that the sophomore effort from these Newport lads doesn’t quite hit the heady heights of 2011’s ‘Vices’, but it’s comforting that alongside their all-out pop-punk anthems of old are genuine attempts to diversify. Glimpses like heartfelt ballad ‘Skin And Bones’ and an uncharacteristically ambient, unsettling title track impress.
Opinion: Very Good
If you like your music bursting with hooks and drenched in sunshine, then you could do a hell of a lot worse than There Used To Be A Place For Us. Still sounding like they could sit alongside any of the bands on the Drive-Thru Records roster circa 2002, the sophomore effort from Wales’ Save Your Breath doesn't deviate a whole lot from the sound they established on their 2011 debut. However, it is a more assured and catchier effort and showcases far better songwriting, and though the quality wavers on a few tracks, overall it justifies those who passed on them before taking another look.
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