Original members evolve, release impressive self-titled.
A decade (under the influence?) after they first came together to release Taking Back Sunday’s 2002 debut “Tell All Your Friends,” Eddie Reyes, Mark O’Connell, John Nolan, Adam Lazzara and Shaun Cooper have joined up again on the band’s newest self-titled album. The band’s storied and slightly convoluted past has finally culminated in a reunion fans have been hoping for since Nolan and Cooper left the band in 2003.
Any critic would be hard-pressed to accurately assess the quintet’s latest attempt without taking into account their history. And while devoted fans were surely expecting a restructured rerelease of “Tell All Your Friends” in all its glory, they must also realize the way the band has grown since their debut.
“Taking Back Sunday” has managed, in ways the members themselves couldn’t, to explain the evolution of the group’s sound since its formation. The featured singles from before the album was released showcase both the natural and the acquired strengths from the member’s many years making music.
“El Paso,” the first prereleased song and the first track, is a testament to the guitar-driven and energetic 2009 release (including guitarist Matt Fazzi and bassist Matt Rubano) “New Again.” Though the single makes good use of the energy the band has live and Lazzara’s near-screaming, aggressive vocals, the repetition and lack of the characteristic lyrical depth (more so on “New Again”) leave a lot to be desired.
The next single and second track, “Faith (When I Let You Down),” falls partially victim to the same problems, though it shows a clear and emotional lyrical subject. Though like “New Again” and “El Paso,” it departed from the group’s usual lyrical standards, which often included masked and complicated storylines and seemingly hidden meanings, “Faith’s” departure is justified by its clear honesty.
Third release and second official single “This Is All Now” and a track from “This Is All Now’s” single release EP, “Best Places to be a Mom,” are undoubtably the closest hits to Taking Back Sunday’s beloved “TAYF” sound. With “This Is All Now” the band plays with the slow intensity most present on their first two creations, with the urgency and angst presumably lost with the passing of their young adulthood.
“Best Places to Be a Mom,” with the well-timed backup vocals of John Nolan (bringing the perfectly crafted emotion that Fred Mascherino worked so hard and failed to match), establishes itself from the first listen as a well-rounded tribute to the group’s past. With these tracks, Taking Back Sunday proves that the members not only have the ability to recall their decade-old dynamic but that they can also introduce their refined musical talents into the equation — most notably the expanded vocal talents of Nolan, formed during his years singing for Straylight Run after departing from TBS.
Despite the great impression left by the singles, many of the rest of the songs on the record lean toward the generic side. In keeping with “El Paso,” many of the remaining tunes lack the lyrical creativity Taking Back Sunday has made part of their core sound. Lyrics from earlier releases, particularly the first three, don’t usually touch on just one emotion, or subject, but instead draw on a wide spectrum of feeling. Beside the singles and standout tracks like “Sad Savior” and “Who Are You Anyway?” much of the songs’ lyrics could be found on any other band’s CD. “Money (Let It Go)” is a perfect example of this fact, as its aggressive rock ‘n’ roll seems more suited to a Pink Spiders album.
If the eponymous record has one distinct flaw, it is the way the rest of the album blends into itself. And while this could signify a cohesive sound in any other work, the standout tracks promote the idea that the band poured everything into those songs and didn’t have much left for the rest of them.
The fact of the matter is, if Taking Back Sunday had made this album fully cohesive, fans and listeners would be missing out on some of the most impressive tracks of the band’s career. The intensity of some of the album’s most extraordinary creations simply overshadows the rest of the work, most of which would have been perfectly at home on a CD of their own. In the grand scheme of things, if the only flaw on an album is that some of its songs are too incredible in comparison to others, that band has to be doing something right.
While only time will tell if Taking Back Sunday can stay stable enough for the reunited bandmates to produce another album, the majority brilliance of their first attempt can only be indicative of significant hope for the future.