New Jersey-based rock band Save Face have released their full-length debut, Merci. The album is the band’s first release for Epitaph.

With its catchy-yet-off-kilter and viscerally charged sound, Merci is a concept album about an addict dealing with post-rehab relationship struggles and an eventual paranoia-fueled meltdown. Partly inspired by the theatricality of such bands as Queen, Merci is driven by a dramatic tension that reflects Save Face’s mission of making emotionally complex, multi-faceted art.

“I think the biggest challenge is writing something that has merit in an artistic context while still being palatable and digestible for an average listener,” notes vocalist/guitarist Tyler Povanda, whose bandmates include guitarist Phil McGarry, bassist Chris Aveta, and drummer Chris Flannery. “I want someone to put these songs on while they’re having a great day the same way they can listen to it while going through a crisis.”

Formed in 2012, Save Face released their debut EP Folly in 2016. Last November, the band delivered Folly: On The Rocks—a stripped-down, partly acoustic, more intimate rendition of that EP. With their remarkable work ethic, Save Face have played hundreds of shows per year, spending an impressive nine months on the road in 2017 (including a run with their labelmates The Menzingers).