Posted by ChrisB in Reviews | 1 Comment
[REVIEW] Taking Back Sunday – Taking Back Sunday
Taking Back Sunday
Taking Back Sunday
Warner Brothers Records
Release: June 28th, 2011
Not many albums in recent memory have had the massive build up and anticipation that surrounds the new self titled album by Taking Back Sunday dropping June 28th. The hype has been caused by the long awaited reformation of the original 5 members that started TBS, most notably the return of guitarist/back up vocalist John Nolan. The same group of guys that created the genre-defining classic that was Tell All Your Friends, are back in business 9 years later, giving it another shot. Did the band create TAYF2? No. Did they create something special? Without a doubt.
The first three songs of the album were released early to the public in the same sequential order, so most fans of the band already know those songs fairly well. They kick off the album in fantastic fashion. “El Paso” blasts open the doors to the much awaited project. It is the loudest, most hard-hitting track of the release and a great way to get things started. Both “Faith (When I Let You Down)” and “Best Places to Be a Mom” feature phenomenal choruses that are sure to be implanted in your brain after only a few listens.
“Sad Savior” features gorgeous individually picked out guitar chords that sound smooth enough to make you want to slow dance at a high school prom. Lazarra and Nolan bounce off each other during the chorus, belting out “You don’t have to pretend to be an orphan anymore. You don’t have to pretend to be important anymore.” Although it one of the slower tempo tracks on the album, it is sure to be a fan favorite.
“Who Are You Anyway?” features a great bouncy little guitar riff. Nolan bangs out some of my favorite vocals of the release when he pipes out “You’re all talk, no follow through” a few times during the course of the song. This leads us into what I feel like is Taking Back Sunday’s most obscure track compared to the rest of their catalogue. However, I do not mean this in a negative way. “Money (Let It Go)” features a funky bass line that leads the verses, before launching into a screamed chorus by Lazzara, which turns out to be the most fast paced hook on the album.
The climax of the album “This Is All Now” was released online a few weeks back and is the clear front runner for the best song on the album. In my opinion, this is the most impressive song the band has written since Tell All Your Friends and probably in the top 3 songs the band has crafted over their lengthy and successful career. The next three songs of the album aren’t as awesome to me as the rest of the album is, but I’m sure there are plenty of folks who will really dig them. There really is no filler on this album.
If any fan of the band was given these 11 songs in a random order and was asked to pick which song should be the closer, I’m positive the majority would choose “Call Me in the Morning”. Lazzara’s vocals sound phenomenal over the acoustic based track. When the song reaches the bridge, Nolan gets his true chance to shine and boy does he deliver. Fans of his previous band Straylight Run will feel at home when John gives everything he has singing out “Don’t know where were going, but I know where we’ve been. We’ve been hiding from each other, we’ve been hiding from our sins.” Adam finishes the album with the line “Don’t let go”, which is exactly what TBS fans will be doing once they get their hands on this phenomenal comeback album. It is evident that this lineup can still produce high quality music, what the future may hold is the really exciting part.
Review by Chris Bongiovanni
