Taking Back Sunday, 'New Again' (Warner Bros.)
On the Long Island Expressway to your heart.
By David Bevan 05.20.09 5:23 PM
Three years and one new guitarist later, the princes of emo return with a fourth full-length that focuses on roaring arenas as much as on two-timing lovers. Frontman Adam Lazzara's temper tantrums sound more sore- than full-throated, but they still freeze blood for short stretches, while the revolving choruses are as enormous and polished as Boeings, particularly on back-to-school lament "Summer Man" and the Edge-saluting "Where My Mouth Is." But too often, the recycled hard-rock riffage ("Capital M-E") and requisite melodrama ("Everything Must Go") feel brittle and toothless.
This album rocks and your review is horrible. This is much better than Louder Now and Where You Want To be (both with Fred). It of course isn't as good as the epic Tell All Your Friends. Anyway, this album offers a lot and is definitely a lot better than all the other stuff that has been coming out these days! New Again is 4 out 5 stars in my book and easily one of the best albums of 2009. Re-review this album David!
"Tell All Your Friends" was horrible.So I guess the 2.5/5 rating is pretty generous.
Tell All Your Friends was epic, ok, some of it was a bit rough round the edges (Head Club, Bike scene, etc) but it had some tracks will always be instant classics (Cute without the e, Timberwolves in New Jersey, Your So Last Summer, Great Romances of the 20 Century). Where You Want to Be was alright, had some good songs, and Louder Now was definitely their breakthrough record (MakeDamnSure, Spin, Error: Operator, Liar, Whats it feel like to be a ghost and Up Against are all perfection). This last album sounds very poppy and a lot more mainstream, nothing wrong with this, just hope they could of retained some of the raw energy that was in TAYF. So far the only track that seems anywhere close to their roots is Capital M-E which i realise is directed at Fred.
This album is good nto great. I would say its deff their worst album to date only because the others were so good. TBS lost their amazing backups and most of their ingenuity on guitar when Fred left the band. The back and forth exchanges of the last two albums are sorely missing here. However, the album is still very good. Just not as good as the first 3.
It almost saddens me to say, but I enjoy New Again way more than Daisy.
@jessiebrandnew
i totally agree with you. daisy was the only time brand new ever EVER let me down. they usually change their sound so much album to album and i was excited to see where they were headed with their latest release but was completely bummed to find that they kept the essential sound of devil and god, rather fine tuning it than having a "brand new" sound again so to say.
but back on the topic of new again, i thought it was alright. definitely not new. after listening at matthew fazzi's old band "facing new york", they haven't tapped into his full potential. perhaps they will entrust more freedom to the new guitarist in the next album.
...he does know how to play the keyboard quite well... like the original john nolan and unlike the filler fred mascherino, aka the color filler.
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