Review Summary: An album that brings a once dying band roaring back.
Taking Back Sunday was once one of the most influential bands in the 'emo' scene, but regardless of the labels people put on them, they were a fantastic rock n roll band.
"Tell All Your Friends", their debut album, had them bursting onto the scene, guns blazing. Not long after the release of their beloved debut however, John Nolan and Shaun Cooper left the band. This left the band without a bass backbone, and more crucially, lead singer Adam Lazzara without his partner in crime, Mr. Nolan.
The band continued with new additions, releasing the well crafted follow-up "Where you Want To Be" and the superb "Louder Now". These albums were welcome additions to Taking Back Sunday's catalogue and the band was at the peak of their stardom. Then, things took a turn for the worse. They're replacement for Nolan left the band, leaving Lazzara and co. to once again try and find another to man the stage. The album that followed the change in lineup was entitled "New Again". The end result was, to say the least, not impressive to the band or their fans.
Following this failure, many people stopped paying attention to Taking Back Sunday, and the band had yet another alteration. Their new co-front man and bassist both seemingly left the band. The band's future became uncertain, would they split up for good now? Was the band that once seemed to be filled with such potential crashing and burning before it ever really had a chance to take off?
The answer was simply four words: Tell. All. Your. Friends. John Nolan and Shaun Cooper returned to the band after nearly a decade and the reunited band has now released "Taking Back Sunday", and boy, oh boy, this is one you don't want to miss.
Opening with "El Paso", easily the heaviest song they've ever recorded, Taking Back Sunday comes roaring back to life. With Adam and John trading lines back and forth, Mark O'Connell pounding the skins, Eddie going crazy on guitar, and Shaun Cooper proving why he is the definitive TBS bass player, "El Paso" immediately demolishes any preconceptions one has going in. Taking Back Sunday is back... and just maybe better than ever...
Seguing nicely into "Faith", the band shows off a little bit more of a mature side, but keeps it all cranked up to 11 in the process. It just really does feel un-believable to hear those two voices overlapping once again. Next up is the incredible "Best Places to Be a Mom"; a lovely call back to the past, with a bridge that beckons to the future. "Best Places" has an undeniably huge chorus and is one of many stand out tracks on the album.
Then comes the slow acoustic-style track, "Sad Savior", with Adam singing about not having to "Pretend to be important anymore", the song comments on the whole emo craze that the band blew up in. It's really brilliant and showcases that the band is so much more than many originally labeled them to be. "Who Are You Anyway?" is up next, one of the most experimental tracks on the album, with a slight dance-y vibe, but also incredibly complex in arrangement.
The second half of the album kicks off with the banger that is "Money(Let It Go)". A surfer style rocker that never lets up, and also showcases the guitar solo-ing abilities of one Mr. John Nolan. The next song is none other than "This is All Now". This track is truly engenious, and it showcases everything that is brilliant about Taking Back Sunday. Soft, piano driven verses are counter-acted by a huge, chugging guitar chorus along side the dual vocal dynamic intensity of the bridge.
From here, we're on a one way road to ginormous album climax. Kicking off with the excellent "It Doesn't Feel A Thing Falling", from here all bets are off. Next up is the pheonomenal "Since You're Gone", an outstanding track that showcases not just the brilliancy of Taking Back Sunday as a whole, but also each individual member and what dynamic they bring to the table. These five dudes were meant to play along side each other.
Wrapping it up is the undeniably incredible one-two punch of "You Got Me" and "Call Me In The Morning". The first is a thrash rocker with Lazzara singing about the birth of his son, and in a way, it sounds a lot like the first time Lazzara is being straight up brutally honest with us. The latter, is a slow-burn song that is ingenious.
