Band:	Taking Back Sunday
Album:	New Again

In an interview leading up to the release of “New Again”, Taking Back Sunday’s bassist Matt Rubano said “…there’s stuff on this record I think in the past we would have stayed away from.”  This statement has an unintended double meaning. In context, it is meant to reference how the band has grown and pushed themselves further with this album, but as a long time fan who is already slightly pessimistic about the release, the statement makes it seem like they are scraping old ideas from the bottom of the barrel.  The ideas that weren’t good enough in the past are now suddenly worth recording on this album.

The band has previously reinvented itself after previous guitarist John Nolan left the band and were left with this task again after Fred Mascherino left the band in 2007. They were able to grow quite seamlessly through the previous re-birth, actually gaining more fans, but the transition this time around may be a little rockier.  Those already frustrated by the change, like myself (hence my pessimism), will have a big enough hurdle to climb without the additional fear of change.

The first track on the album, “New Again” from which the album takes its name, does little to calm these fears. They definitely lean to a more modern/alternative rock sound on this album, generally opting more for rhythm rather than lead guitars. You could hear steps in this direction on their last album, “Louder Now” and they have never really been much for lead guitar, but this album uses even less. With the “rockier” sound the album comes out a lot heavier, if not slightly less inspired and generic (almost as if they were scraping the bottom of a barrel). Part of the heaviness comes from Matt Rubano’s bass which positions itself as the strongest instrument on the track “New Again”. Other tracks like “Lonely, Lonely” and “Carpathia” only serve to solidify its dominance, as it actually keeps many of the tracks moving and adds a level of intricacy to otherwise straightforward rock songs.

I’m not sure if it was Mascherino that brought the pop sensibilities to TBS but with Mascherino missing, the band seems to miss the hook more often than not. “Sink Into Me”, “Carpathia” and “Catholic Knees” are the only full songs that really seem to catch attention and keep it. Other songs like “New Again”, “Everything Must Go” and “Lonely, Lonely” have moments or pieces that stand out, but otherwise fall into that genre of motionless Top 40 rock.

Adam Lazzara, who now takes sole lead vocal duties, is left to carry the tracks without the support of Fred Mascherino. It was their style of call and answer vocals that truly defined the band and gave them a certain amount of uniqueness, but without it, Lazzara’s shortcomings are much more evident. His voice was always thin, but now, left on its own it, his thinness stands out even more, as does his “loose” pitch control. Unfortunately “New Again” is not the only track with vocal problems, as many of the tracks suffer from this vocal affliction. Listen to “Cut Me Up Jenny” for the best example of how poor the vocals can be. This leaves his lyrics, which in the past have been one of the band’s strong suits, to save the vocal performance. Where some tracks are able to carry this weight, others lack in this department as well. “Summer, Man” is almost as generic as they come and “Swing” is basically a tribute to All American Rejects’ “Swing Swing” from about 7 years ago.

Taking Back Sunday is one of the few bands in modern music who use dry vocals upfront in the mix. This technique of recording vocals puts Lazzara right next to you in the room; you can hear every breath, crack and enunciation. For a singer like Lazzara, whose style is built around his crackly, breathy technique, this is a major asset. Generally it works best when he is either so quiet he has a whisper-like quality as at the end of “Sink Into Me” or he screams at the edge of his range like on “Everything Must Go”.

I’m glad that “Sink Into Me” is the first single from “New Again”. Not only does the song feature some of the better vocal work, as mentioned, it is also the catchiest. From the start of the track with the bouncing drum and clap percussion to the sing along chorus and racing bass-line this song delivers. I would expect “Carpathia” to be the second single as it drops some of the most memorable moments on the album is one of the better songs in the history of Taking Back Sunday. It is a bit heavier than past tracks by the band, but it seems like the only track that is an actual progression of their music rather than a step backwards, plus it has a great bass solo, something that is underutilized in modern music.

After listening through the album several times, the only word I can think of to describe it is unfortunate. Its unfortunate that Mascherino and the band couldn’t work out their differences. Its unfortunate that Lazzara can’t cut a stronger vocal path. It’s unfortunate that they have lost a lot of what made them unique. And most unfortunate of all is that the band could deliver only a few strong tracks and not a strong album.

Taking Back Sunday Official Site
Taking Back Sunday on MySpace
Taking Back Sunday - “New Again” on Amazon

Release Date: June 2nd, 2009

“New Again” - Tracklist
(* recommended tracks)

1. New Again
2. Sink Into Me*
3. Lonely, Lonely*
4. Summer, Man
5. Swing
6. Where My Mouth Is
7. Cut Me Up Jenny
8. Catholic Knees*
9. Capital M-E
10. Carpathia*
11. Everything Must Go

Related posts:

1. Playlist - Sunday Bloody Sunday
2. The Color Fred - Bend to Break
3. Albums of the Week - Taking Back Tuesday