Princeton, NJ's Saves the Day debuted in 1997 with their first full-length, Can't Slow Down, on Equal Vision Records after releasing an 8-song demo tape. The record flirted with the line between melodic hardcore and pop-punk and drew a healthy amount of Lifetime comparisons, a band of which lead singer Chris Conley claims is a rather large influence on the band. 1998's one-off Immigrant Sun release I'm Sorry I'm Leaving was a 5-song acoustic EP that included a cover of Modern English's "I Melt With You." 1999 saw the release of Through Being Cool, which saw the band embrace the pop-punk sound fully. The release also involved a revamped lineup with the departure of guitarists Anthony Anastacio and Justin Gaylord, as well as bassist Sean McGrath. The band soon signed to Vagrant Records and released Stay What You Are in 2001. Shortly after the release, guitarist Ted Alexander left the band, with Conley taking over for the first time in the band's career. The band scored a major break when they were picked to support Green Day and Blink-182 on 2002's Pop Disaster Tour. A deal with currently defunct Dreamworks Records ensued. Further down the line, former Face to Face drummer Pete Parada replaced Bryan Newman on the skins and recorded with them the band's major label debut, 2003's In Reverie. The album was ill-received by the majority of the band's fanbase, but many stayed loyal with the release of 2004's Ups & Downs: Early Recordings and B-Sides that provided just that, as well as headlining tours in 2004 and 2005 that found the band including much more material from Can't Slow Down and Through Being Cool than tours from 2001-2003. With Dreamworks Records folding, the band recorded the followup to In Reverie in late 2005 with no label support, looking to release the album in 2006.