3.0 good

Adam Downer STAFF | May 27th 09

New Again is an ironic title for this album considering it sounds just like everything Taking Back Sunday's put out since Where You Want to Be. Same pits, same thrills, same general consistency without being all that special save for a couple songs. Adam Lazzara still sings about girls and the songs all have that early 00s powerpop edge that's defined Taking Back Sunday for their entire careers. Is this a bad thing? No, New Again is the type of record that provides earnest enjoyment in its familiarity and wordy choruses. They might consider themselves "new again," but this current Taking Back Sunday are comfortably holding down pop punk with the same old tricks. 7 Bumps | Bump

5.0 classic

straylightrunner | June 7th 09

I'm a long time fan of this band and I completely agree that it's their most mature album to date, and I'd say even more, this is their best album to date. Don't get me wrong, I really loved Tell All Your Friends back in '02, it defined the sound of a generation of musicians would try to capsulize, but that my friend, oh that were at best better than teenage poetry (“man, that was ages ago...”). They're a grown up band now, and for the first tmme ever, I feel them as an accomplished band. There're no sign of ego fights whatsoever and they seem to have som real good fun with all of this. If this album is a statement of the things to come, they can count me aboard for that. I feel very lucky for having a band that I really can connect to that never dumbed down their sound. This is no blink (even though I love them, come on these dudes are almost in their fourties and still writing adolescent music. I love them, I'm really excited for their come back but, come on), this is a band that I can rest assure that will grow up with me. And I really want to thank them for that. 6 Bumps | Bump

4.0 excellent	Adam Knott CONTRIBUTOR | May 20th 09
more rock, less punk, less chaos, more craft, less inconsistent, more mature, entirely awesome. 6 Bumps | Bump

2.5 average

David James Young | June 7th 09

Taking Back Sunday aren't new again. New implies freshness, uniqueness, originality. Practically everything that New Again is not - despite a catchy hook or two thrown in every now and then, Adam Lazzara and co. sound tired, almost lethargic - a shadow of their former selves; a rock band capable of pop perfection. For the diehard fans of the band only, this album shall most probably be perceived retrospectively as another nail in the Taking Back Sunday coffin. 2 Bumps | Bump

2.5 average	danthug | May 28th 09
For real? this album only has 4 good songs: new again, summer man, carpathia and everything must go. the rest of the songs try wayy to hard to be catchy... Their previous albums were a lot better, lyrically and musically. 2 Bumps | Bump

4.5 superb	Tempertemperature | May 26th 09
TBS changes their sound and finally does TAYF justice with a great album. 2 Bumps | Bump

3.5 great	Aj | June 16th 09
It's a good album for what it is. But for a Taking Back Sunday album, no way. 1 Bumps | Bump

3.5 great	Stephen Abootman | June 1st 09
Taking Back Sunday produce another fun album, which is perfect for listening to on hot summer days. Nearly as good as Tell All Your Friends, nearly... 1 Bumps | Bump

3.5 great

Davey Boy STAFF | November 20th 09

On Taking Back Sunday's 4th LP 'New Again', the hooks are a little more subtler than usual, making it less immediate than their previous releases. Yet, it is also a sign of the band's songwriting maturity, which makes this undoubtedly their most consistent album to date. While some may find the middle section so-so, the closing trio are strong, with the catchy guitars & memorably biting lyrics of 'Capital M-E' a highlight. The M.V.P of the album however, could well be the rhythm section, which lays an impressive foundation right from the very beginning of the terrific title track. Recommended Tracks: New Again, Capital M-E, Carpathia & Swing. Bump

3.0 good

Enotron | October 17th 09

I'm being nice to this record by giving it a 3. The songs are well....good, but they are boring as hell. I find that this record has no diversity. If they switched up the pace a bit, maybe I would've liked it a bit better. You see if any of these songs were showed to me individually or on their own, I would've liked them. But in the context of an album, their a bore. Though Everything Must Go is a great track. Bump

4.5 superb

BigTuna | October 3rd 09

This is my first experience with TBS, and holy shit, this album rocks. There's not a filler on this thing. Lazzara carries the album, crooning over perfectly placed guitar melodies and bass fills. His lyrics are excellent, full of wit and sarcasm, and the alternative take on pop punk is executed very well. The only reason this is not a 5 yet is because I've only given it about a week. But damnit, I can't stop listening. Bump

5.0 classic

redsparrow | September 1st 09

Three months later and who would have ever thought? Taking Back Sunday's New Again owns Brand New's Daisy in every fuckin' way. Definitely my favorite record of the year. Even though my mind says that the album of the year is Thrice's Beggars, the circumstances surrounding my life around the time this was released made it even more special. Thank you for continuously making the soundtrack of my life, TBS. Bump

3.5 great	Erik Bailey | July 29th 09
i was a little disappointed at first, but there are definitely some really noteworthy songs on this album including "summer man" and "everything must go". Bump

3.0 good

smokachino | July 12th 09

I absolutely regretted this purchase at first, but now it's gaining some validity through repeated listens. I'm not convinced about their "new band" thing, it still feels the same, albeit a tad altered. Although it's growing on me, I still can't help but feel like it's held back in some major ways. It seems TBS unknowingly played it safe for most of this outing and didn't give themselves any new ground to really glow on. They're at their best when the energy is high and emotions are raw and sincere rather than modest and bottled up. It's pleasurably watered down if anything (with it's respective ups and downs) but still makes me wish for an exclamation point to the whole thing. Bump

2.5 average

6604 | June 22nd 09

Ah, TBS old friend... its been interesting to watch this band through the years. Regardless of motive, Adam Lazzara went down another guitarist/singer and got himself a new one. First off, lets talk Matt Fazzi: in my opinion (after watching him live), Fazzi is the most capable musician TBS has opitioned yet, his voice far and beyond those of Fred and John respectively. What brings 'New Again' down is that for some reason unbeknownst to me, the powers that be (Adam) make Fazzi hold way, way back, not offering him ANY lines and only a few awesome guitar lines. In this way, the music bolsters Adam as usual, yet showing his flaws even more this time around. Adam's vocal work is in a word - underpar. Although there are many great parts and melodies, Adam's voice often cracks and goes wildly out of tune which, back in the day, would fit, but here it brings 'New Again' down a notch. As far as the rest of the band goes, things are solid: Matt Rubano shows his bass chops, offering probably the most consistently great performace of his career with TBS - the other two, well, lets just say its business as usual. 'New Again' is growing on me, but I'll be the first to say that if this is the new sound TBS is going for, 1. its not that different, and 2. its really not any better. Check out "Sink Into Me" and "Swing"... other than that this is for TBS fans only. A shame indeed. Bump

5.0 classic	JasonHate | June 21st 09
Let's keep this a secret, but I secretly love New Again. Bump

3.0 good	HollywoodConstantine | June 16th 09
It's a great album, but it's really bad compared to the other three, which seem to get better the farther back we go. Tell All Your Friends was my fav. Bump

4.0 excellent

Deuce2 | June 2nd 09

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Taking Back Sunday fan, but New Again did not live up to my expectations. Was I wrong to expect a fresh new Taking Back Sunday? I mean after all the album is called new again. But what I found was TBS kind of reverting back to their old sound. A lot songs sound like they could be on WYWTB or Louder Now. There were some songs that totally rocked my sox like Carpathia and Sink into Me but for the most part it is what you expect from Taking Back Sunday and that sort of dampened my taste. But if you want an album that you can't go wrong with, this is it. But if your looking for something fresh and new, maybe you should look elsewhere. Bump

3.0 good	Skyler | May 31st 09
Sink Into Me is probably one of the better songs TBS has written. The rest of this is kind of forgettable though. Bump

5.0 classic	Guinazu | May 29th 09
A feel good summer album. Best album since their first one, and quite possibly crawling his way for the 1st stop til the end of the summer. A must have album and my favorite album of the year so far. I can't praise it enough. Bump

4.5 superb	convergejd | May 26th 09
This is actually really, really good. I wasn't even interested in this and hadn't thought about giving it a listen until I saw it getting better reviews here. I decided to try it out and I am glad I did. A very strong effort. Bump

3.5 great	brandaao | May 21st 09
Given all my bad expectations i had for this album. I am really really enjoying this. Bump

2.5 average	Steve | May 21st 09
it's ok, nothing special. I thought that the album was quite bland with the exception of the first few songs. In my opinon wasn't the best of ideas, for it makes listening to the rest of the album alot tedious. Bump

4.5 superb	Aaron | May 20th 09
The only sad part about this is that new guy is nothing like Fred (who did not suck), and certainly not even close to John. Bump