Save Ends - Warm Hearts, Cold Hands

Boston's own Save Ends are ready for the big leagues with their debut on Tiny Engines Records, "Warm Hearts, Cold Hands". The disc jumps all over the place in terms of its musical offerings, running the gamut from pop-punk to emo to indie, but settles on its laurels and presents a band in the midst of allocating their sound and transmitting to a willing and able listening audience.

"Punkorama 30" kicks off the action with a terrific, mid tempo blast that is indicative of the band in the midst of a transition musically, and allows the band to explore outside the cavernous musical formations that permeate the overall sound of this record. "We Are The Only Ones" is a fast paced, no frills rocker that features intense and pounding instrumentation beating down the door with such veracity and the transition between male and female vocals gives a double edged advantage to it that you just can't find anywhere else. "A Life They Wrote" is my favorite track off the album that totally defines the group's musical resolve: well written and plotted out instrumentation that highlights the band's strengths in one flawless track that made me a firm believer in their musical mission and everything that they do to sustain it. "Same Old Dice" hearkens back to New Found Glory's early years with a non stop cavalcade of sharp and driven guitars, and the transitional male/female vocal bringing a level of balance and depth to an already outstanding effort heard here so far.

The second half gets into gear with "Kurzweil", an intricately designed rocker that pulls everything out of its playbook into one of the more impressive tracks put together by the group in terms of its impressive knowledge of music technicality that allows them to really dig deep and put out everything that they can muster. The disc starts to draw to a close on "Song of Susannah", a terrific melodic blast that punches their ticket home with outstanding instrumentation from all parties involved that ensures we get to the finish line on time and on point as well. "Don't Panic" concludes the effort by bringing it down a couple of notches on a downtempo affair, but still has the same unfiltered quality as the prior tracks in its ability to present everything in a honest and true fashion through outstanding lyricism and lasting instrumentation that I simply can't get enough of. A truly amazing and outstanding effort all around from a band that you will definitely be hearing more from in the days and months ahead, I guarantee it!

In closing, an outstanding and near perfect effort from Save Ends, a Boston band that isn't like the other groups locally in the sense that they present music in a beautiful and honest fashion upfront that it makes you even prouder to reside in one of the best music cities in the country.

                                                                                                                               Album Score: 4.5/5

Track Listing:

1. Punkorama 30
2. We Are The Only Ones
3. A Life They Wrote
4. Same Old Dice
5. Always Knew
6. Kurzweil
7. Skeptical Sons/Curious Daughters
8. Chasing Embers
9. Song of Susannah
10. Don't Panic