Four years ago, my life was over. Or that’s at least what I told myself when I picked up Saves The Day’s “In Reverie.” But then again, that’s just part of the melodramatic chokehold music can have over you as a teenager.

For better or for worse, sometimes music is all you’ve got. And in high school, that first favorite band means everything.

Saves The Day have always been that first important group to me. From the first day I picked up a copy of its breakthrough 1999 album “Through Being Cool” to its follow-up album, the innovative and incredibly imagined “Stay What You Are,” I’ve been hooked. Then these Jersey boys went and did what just about every band eventually does: mature.

And that’s exactly why “In Reverie” scared the hell out of me. But fast forward to the present; in retrospect, the record is merely a minor hiccup in an otherwise impressive career. Now with the release of the group’s latest album, “Under the Boards,” its truly mature and adventurous voice can finally be heard.

In the past when Saves The Day was making records, listeners could always count on a few things: angst, the breakup song and the love song. There was nothing too wrong with that formula. Although, obviously it wears thin after a few records, and luckily enough the band has realized this. “Under the Boards” is easily the band’s most diverse release to date. While old topics still find homes in singer and guitarist Chris Conley’s lyrics, it’s actually only a small focus of the record. This time around the journey each track takes you on and overall approach are by no means ordinary. Saves The Day seem as though they couldn’t be happier with this.

The second in a series of three concept albums, “Under the Boards,” is inescapably entrenched in pop irony. Songs like the infectiously catchy “Get F—– Up” wear the appearance of a driving, hook-laden and clever pop-rock song, but hint at something deeper. One listen to Conley’s darkened remorseful lyrics reveals the stark contrast between song motifs and the upbeat guitars and punchy pronounced bass lines.

This technique of burying heavier themes in the unassuming soil of otherwise poppy tunes flows immaculately throughout much of “Under the Boards.” When it’s successful you get perfectly crafted, odd little jagged gems like “Bye Bye Baby” and “Radio.” However, when it isn’t, you’ll probably just find yourself scratching your head.

Granted, this isn’t a condemnation of the other songwriting techniques experimented with on the album, but not everything lying underneath Saves The Day’s floors is secretly beautiful. Ill-advised attempts at experimentation fall flat on their face in songs like “Lonely Nights” that are so cliché and melodramatic they’re almost not even worth mentioning.

But by and large, “Under the Boards” is a success. Conley and crew have weaned themselves of all that messy teenage angst and learned the precise dynamics behind writing an intriguing and rewarding pop song.

Kudos to the band for taking another stab at the ever-difficult concept album. While last year’s “Sound the Alarm” might’ve been a less uneven and more compelling meditation, something tells me there’s plenty we’ve yet to hear from Saves The Day. “Under the Boards” just shows the band still has some construction to do.