Media Review

Taking Back Sunday

Louder Now (CD)

Warner
website | mySpace | pureVolume

Overall Rating:

7.0

Music Quality: 8.0

Production: 9.0

Originality: 6.0

Initially, I was besides myself when Taking Back Sunday released their sophomore effort, “Where You Want To Be.” I resented John Nolan, former backup vocalist, for leaving the group, and, simply, “wasn’t feeling” their new singer’s efforts. However, after I finally caved to the overwhelming hype and demand of it, “Where You Want To Be” quickly became significantly and totally more enjoyable than ever; the band’s change in direction settled nicely.

So here we are, 2 years later, and unlike other acts of the same caliber who have decided to further delay their follow-up (hint hint The Nizzle), Taking Back Sunday wasted no time. With an obvious creative style and approach that is, well, their own, “Louder Now” reveals an extraordinary production, thanks to Eric Valentine (Queens Of The Stone Age, Third Eye Blind) and the songs follow-suit. Soaring, infectious hooks and chorusing thanks to the expected dual-vocal attack from Adam Lazzara and Fred Mascherino. Lazzara’s range is noticeably improved on “Louder Now,” often skipping up an octave or two above the darker, lower, and even more abrasive sound from Mascherino. The combination of Lazzara’s smooth crooning and Mascherino’s more coarse makes for a pleasing texture, and the hooks and choruses on this record are perhaps the catchiest they’ve ever been.

But you already knew all of that, right? I mean, after all, we all know what Taking Back Sunday sound like. So let’s get down to the basics: how does the album compare? Or more simply, is this Taking Back Sunday’s best album?

Questions like these are hard to answer—especially when you’ve spent months plainly living life to their debut, “Tell All Your Friends,” and even more so when the debut was undoubtedly one of the first breakthrough albums in the genre. And when the clasping chorusing on “Where You Want To Be” has invaded your car stereo for many months on end as well, it’s hard to simply cast it aside as a “lesser” or “less-great” album.

And, at its best moments, “Louder Now” reveals songwriting and a quality sound that is, truly, better than it has ever been. By “better,” I mean more complex, more thought-out, more energetic, and with more textures than ever before. One can’t deny that “Spin” is easily the most blasting, lively, in-your-face pop/hardcore fusion jam that has ever been written by the band, with it’s deeply infectious “ARE YOU COMING HOME!!!” and vocal battling between Lazzara and Mascherino. The sound on this record is huge, with incredibly full, exploding guitars, seamless vocals; it’s got an all-around radio-ready production.

From the moment the record starts, the band doesn’t screw around: “What It Feels Like To Be A Ghost” boasts an expected dual-vocal skirmish, and is as infectious and catchy as ever. Though the single, “Better Make Damn Sure” tends to be almost a little too sugar-coated, by the time “Up Against (Blackout)” hits the airwaves one finds themselves singing, screaming, yelping, and shouting along with the band—it’s undisputably one of the most contagious pop-jams I’ve ever heard, ever.

And while the sound and many of the songs are truly superb--even extraordinary--for the band, some of the songs were, honestly, a bit disappointing. “My Blue Heaven,” for example, drags on with repetitive, predictable hooks and a sort of dry energy, and the acoustic ballad, “Divine Intervention” is comprised of slow, drab technique. Both songs have a sort of tacky feel to them—whether it’s the string symphony on the bridge of “My Blue Heaven” or the bells ringing on “Divine Intervention,” it’s all a little trite.

Still, “Miami,” in the face of a rather simple chorus (the repeating of the word “Miami” on end about 20 times) swanks a rather somber feel: “whoever I was then, I can’t ever be again,” Lazzara shines. The guitars on this track especially reveal a new sound for the band, reminiscent of bands like The Exit, with up tempo, off-beat guitar stroking. And though the revision of the hugely popular “Error Operator” isn’t hugely improved, it’s still a splendid song that perhaps defines the angst-ridden, aggressive nature Taking Back Sunday has turned for.

So while Taking Back Sunday haven’t reinvented themselves by any means, the superlative production efforts and song-writing on “Louder Now” are as accessible as ever, and while there are certainly some total misses on this record, when Taking Back Sunday are on they hit it as tight and commanding as ever.

reviewed by Andrew Martin