Taking Back Sunday- Taking Back Sunday (A Dual Review)

Tell All Your Friends defined the 2000s both in aesthetic and construction. It set the standard for the “Long Island Sound” and for Taking Back Sunday as a band. Unfortunately for the members that came into the TBS fold after that album (Fred Mascherino, Matt Rubano, and Matt Fazzi), it was also a testament to the songwriting partnership of singer Adam Lazzara and singer/guitarist John Nolan.

That's a tough act to follow.

And in a way, Taking Back Sunday’s career has been guided by the presence and absence of the Lazzara/Nolan connection, which makes this eponymous record a VERY big deal. For the first time in 9 years, Lazzara and Nolan are collaborating on music together, something that seemed impossible after their bitter split. Given the importance of this reunion, I've enlisted the help of my good friend Matt (Over at his new blog, The Sight Of Sound) for a track-by-track review of Taking Back Sunday to help decide if the classic line-up can rediscover that old magic together:

El Paso
Matt- I will never forget where I was when I first heard “El Paso,” the first official single off the album. I immediately took to it and just sat there grinning because I was so happy. It is, by far, one of the strongest and heaviest songs in the band's discography and the perfect opener to let you know you are in for one hell of a ride on this disc.

Mike- This is a statement of purpose, the song that says “Guys, we’re back.” It’s the most bone-crushing Molotov cocktail of wailing guitar, sledgehammer drums, and lumbering bass that TBS has ever produced. Lazzara and Nolan’s howls twist around each other like barbed wire soaked in acid.

Faith (When I Let You Down)
Matt- For some reason, when I first heard this song I was just kind of like “eh.” I have no idea what happened, but a few more plays and I became hooked. “Faith” is a simple and honest song that, if pushed right, has a sound capable of being a better radio single than “MakeDamnSure.”

Mike- Louder Now hinted at TBS’s stadium-sized aspirations, but this is the full realization of that. Crashing drums, organ swells, and flange soaked guitar leads accentuate Lazzara’s voice as it climbs skyward. This is an ANTHEM.

Best Places To Be A Mom
Matt- The demo version of this song was the first to be leaked (by frontman Adam Lazzara himself) and I felt at the time it was the perfect blend of an old sound that is attempting to be progressive. The finished version has some nice touches and this song brings to mind the old saying of “having the band back together.”

Mike- One of the big things TBS started to shy away from in the post-Nolan years was the dual vocals they popularized on Tell All Your Friends. They’re front and center here, detailing romantic strife as the song shifts between stutter-stop crunch and open note swells. It’s so 2002.

Sad Savior
Matt- I was put off at first by the country twang of the verses, but the choruses complement the song nicely. It's an example of great lyrics being the backbone of a decent song: “You don't have to pretend to be an orphan anymore/You don't have to pretend to be important anymore.”

Mike- Eddie Reyes’ 50s-inspired pluck sets up sweetly against Lazzara’s naked voice before the group plunges into thick, chunky power-pop. Some arresting images and turns of phrase in this one, “Skin against skin, covering bone/On the body you're in, is aggressively slim/Yeah, you earned the clothes you put on it…”

Who Are You Anyway?
Matt- An example of something that happens a couple of times on this album: Strong verses and mediocre choruses. TBS got knocked a lot in their early days of being repetitive in their lyrics and I think that notion fails them here in the chorus. But it's ok: The verses are bouncy and fun as hell.

Mike- The most telling feature about Taking Back Sunday is how focused the group is in capturing a live energy. This track is easily the best example, complete with buzzsaw riffage and Mark O’Connell’s precision perfect drumming.

Money (Let It Go)
Matt- Let me say this about "Money": I like to turn it up and really feel it... but I could also do without it. I struggle to find meaning in the track but I guess every album needs that “distraction” where you just don't think much about it and go with it.

Mike- This track seems to be the dividing line for old and new fans alike. Still, Shaun Cooper’s bass holds it together with dirty heft while the bridge features driving melodies and handclaps. TBS has always dabbled in hip-shaking grooves, but this is the closest they’ve ever come to funk.

This Is All Now
Matt- From start to finish, from lyrics to instrumentals, from verses to choruses (and bridges): This is the best track on the album. If this is the kind of music that is representative of TBS 2.0 (or is it like 4.5 at this point?) then I want front row tickets for this ride.

Mike- A distant cousin to “Ghost Man On Third,” this cut implements delicate open notes rounded out by warm bass work. Lazzara and Nolan’s sand paper vocals trade lines like, “This is, all I ever ask from you/The only thing you couldn't to do/Tell me the whole truth…” during a heaving chorus and perhaps the album’s heaviest emotional apex.

It Doesn’t Feel A Thing Like Falling

Matt- Remember that “repetitive chorus” thing I talked about in “Money?” Well it returns here but with a different result – it works. It's a perfect example of the vocals working with the instruments and one of the best examples of the dual vocals that were absent on New Again.

Mike- Reyes and Nolan trade fuzzy, spidery riffs before the group slams down around them. There’s a relentlessly climbing atmosphere featured here, which is definitely destined to shine live. Imitators should take notes.

Since You’re Gone
Matt- I want to not like this track. Parts of it just seem so simple and thrown together, but dammit: I relate to it and because of that the song has me in its grasp. “There's no one to take for granted now you're gone” is an open statement that any fool that thought they were better off can relate to. Though, once again, it gets repetitive, I can feel the emotion in the chorus and that's what separates it from the other tracks.

Mike- Of all the tracks on Taking Back Sunday, this is the throw away. It’s simply disjointed; the soft piano breaks seem out of place within an otherwise placid mid-tempo number. Elsewhere, Lazzara simply whines “I’M SORRY/COME BACK!” to the point where it’s obnoxious, not anguished.

You Got Me

Matt- While the song has some of the best instrumental work, it is probably one of the weakest songs lyrically. I actually didn't think that until I heard the demo for “Mourning Sickness” (a track I DESPARATELY wish was included) and saw that the chorus in that song is only the bridge in here. While not bad, this one had a lot of potential.

Mike- If “Since You’re Gone” found Lazzara whining about his ex, “You Got Me” has him fixated on his current, “I was there when you were lonely/I was then when you were bored/I was there when you were feeling scared/And you were not sure what for…” The song blasts by quick with Nolan’s spiraling solo being a huge highlight.

Call Me In The Morning
Matt- I love this band to death, but I will be the first to admit that Lazzara's vocals sometimes walk a very thin line between being different and being annoying and this one is an example where he almost slips. I think near the end had one of the strongest examples of the dual vocals and a nice closer of an album that builds to give you an overall ending.

Mike- Twinkling acoustics give way to sweet sentiments that wouldn’t feel out of place on a Straylight Run record. Lazzara and Nolan fixate on the afterglow of a one-night stand but there’s a tenderness here that the group rarely explores. Though the hook is fairly obvious, it’d be nice to see them push this type of ballad writing in the future.

Overall (Telling All Our Friends)

Matt- While this is the same lineup as Tell All Your Friends, it is definitely not the same music. And that is a good thing. A lot can happen in nine years, especially when a teenager with plenty of angst turns into a twenty something adult who is starting to see the world for what it really is. I feel this release was a perfect example of the good kind of growth and it only makes me anticipate future releases from this revamped lineup to see where they can grow from here.

It's hard to look critically at a band you connect with on a “favorite” level. Admittedly I can find flaws in this release if I look for them and no, this album is not going to win any “Of The Year” categories. But at the end of the day, from track 1 to track 11 – I enjoy it. And at its simplest form, isn't that what the music is all about?

Mike- If there’s a criticism to throw at Taking Back Sunday it’s the fact that the group focused on creating an immediate record at the expense of sonic diversity. Though Nolan’s indie sensibilities crop up here and there, this self-titled record is aimed at big riffs and shout-along choruses. Those limitations aside, however, Lazzara (and the rest of TBS) seems revitalized working with Nolan and Cooper, and eager to explore where they’ve been during their creative separation. Additionally, the group has effectively shed their adolescent skin to explore weightier themes (Faith, Guilt, Self-Preservation) with an aggressive mix, courtesy of producer Eric Valentine. All in all, Taking Back Sunday is a record that exhibits growth amongst musicians that were born to play together, even if it’s within a tightly specific framework this time around. (****)

Key Cuts: El Paso, Best Places To Be A Mom, This Is All Now

Click on the album artwork to sample Taking Back Sunday for yourself!

Live: blink 182 @ Sleep Train Amphitheatre/Shoreline Amphitheatre

It’s important to remember when you fell in love.

There’s only one first time for it and it leaves one hell of an impression. Nothing in the world is quite like those small little tingling moments when your head feels light and your heart beats too fast. You swoon, and your mind takes a snapshot of how your body feels. It’s pretty incredible.

So one can imagine how it feels to feel that again, and I need to thank blink 182 for that.

While nostalgia has been running high on blink 182’s summer reunion tour, the band puts on a show that can almost justify the $40 t-shirts they sell. Supported by Chester French, Taking Back Sunday, and Weezer, blink 182 has assembled a ticket that’s interested in tapping into something deeper than just past reputations.

They want you to feel them like a force of nature (Or call girl), and that’s exactly what they accomplish.

The wet, rainy evening began with the rather bland Chester French, offering up half-hearted dance punk for the crowded masses. It left audiences hungry for the real large guns as Andrew "D.A." Wallach and Maxwell Drummey’s material simply failed to leave an impact. They dabble in big sing-a-long choruses and funky synthesizers, but lose the audience when they start singing about “laying pipe.”

Yet it made sense having them on the tour: They are a band desperately attempting to achieve great things through modest means. It’s a label that blink 182 heard all throughout their early days. In a fun way, it seemed like blink’s decision to include them was a nod to their younger years, perhaps hoping to grant Chester French with the same hope that their musical heroes gave them.

Still, there is no substitution for good music and the night’s performances only got better.

Taking Back Sunday ripped through a concise set that ignored a great deal of their old material, but proved they still have a great knack for working a crowd. Adam Lazzara still slithers like Gen Y’s Mick Jagger, and new guitarist Matt Fazzi seemed incredibly comfortable singing dual vocals on classics like “Cute Without The ‘E’ (Cut From The Team).” While the stutter stop energy and rusty riffs of “Sink Into Me” kept audiences on their toes, it was cuts from 2006’s Louder Now that truly made the set. “Liar (It Takes One To Know One)” hit the audience hard, Mark O’Conell’s deft cymbal work and Eddie Reye’s punchy guitar paving the way for Lazzara’s all-too-snide vocals. The band ending up closing with “MakeDamnSure,” the stadium echoing Lazzara’s romantic throes syllable for syllable.

While it’s clear that Taking Back Sunday has lost a great performer with the departure of Fred Mascherino, they provided a show that was tight, precise, and no-nonsense. Which was great, because Weezer brought the first wave of nonsense.

Led by vocalist/guitarist Rivers Cuomo (the 12-year-old trapped in a 39-year-old body), Weezer put forth a show that was high in shenanigans and power-pop. While the band’s matching jumpsuits and ukulele smashing antics kept fans laughing, it was the music that kept them entertained. Playing close to half the songs on 1994’s Weezer (The Blue Album) the band reminded fans that they still have a knack for being the coolest uncool guys ever. “Undone (The Sweater Song)” still crunches with all the fuzz and dorky self-loathing that made it huge more than a decade ago, while “Pork & Beans” chugs along with its thick melodies and awkward wit. Elsewhere, “Say It Ain’t So’s” flashy guitar solo let Weezer pretend they were stadium gods, while their new single “If You’re Wondering If I Want You To (I Want You To)” reminds fans that they can still write charming love songs.

Still it’s Weezer’s imperfections and their consistent pursuit of rock grandeur that continue to charm. While they’re sonic palate has expanded a bit (Brian Bell playing keyboards on “Perfect Situation,” Pat Wilson occasionally picking up a guitar and shredding on “Hash Pipe”), it’s Weezer’s ability to shoot for the power-pop moon and fall slightly short that pushes people to see their live set. They’ve never been a sophisticated band, but their talent stems from hitting hard with hooks, sweet melodies and clumsy situations. It’s endearing, in a “kids-playing-superheroes-with-a-towel-for-a-cape” type of fashion.

In short, Weezer understand why people love them and they love to give the people what they want. Love is not based in perfection it’s based in balance, a balance of fun and meaning.

blink 182 understood that too.

As the black curtain dropped to the opening pick slide of “Dumpweed,” the San Diego trio put together a 2 hour set full of the things that their fans fell in love with. There was machine-like precision of Travis Barker’s drumming, Mark Hoppus’ wistful singing and bouncing bass, and Tom DeLonge’s messy guitar and 12th grade mindset. Yet the most compelling part of the show was how much fun the trio seemed to be having just playing together, revisiting through their back catalog and their biggest singles.

Sure, DeLonge’s voice can’t always hit the notes he could a decade ago, and the band would occasionally fall out of step with one another, but the passion they had for their songs was front and center. Cuts such as the snotty “Anthem Pt. 2” and wildly dissonant “Stockholm Syndrome” were punctuated with added fervor from their studio counterparts. Additionally, the band treated fans to extended instrumental sections on ballads like the Tim Burton-esque “I Miss You” and “Down.” Rain kept the audience cold and shivering, but there was hardly a mouth that wasn’t screaming alongside Hoppus or DeLonge’s lyrics.

It was all love, pure and simple.

However, the real fascinating part about the show was how well blink’s discography seemed to gel. A thick and chunky rendition of “What’s My Age Again?” seemed right at home next to the abrasive thump of “Violence.” “Carousel” wasn’t its thinly recorded self, it was a furious 3 chord assault that felt comfortable next to the swirling bass work and dreamy guitar playing of “Always.” Supplementing their goofy charisma with passionate playing, blink 182 were able to present audiences with a consistent summation of their past and present without feeling like a tribute to themselves. In fact, it was clear that it came from a place of love, right down to DeLonge’s t-shirt.

Standing there as the house lights came up, it was evident that the evening had been all about love (Even if the merch booth was about cash). Seeing Hoppus and DeLonge crack sex jokes and embrace on stage within a matter of minutes could have only happened if they really believed in what they were doing as a band. 2009’s blink 182 wants to play these songs as an extension of who they are, and seeing them live reminds listeners why they bought their albums in the first place.

It’s love, the ability to revisit something and have it move you like it did so many years ago. It means taking something into yourself, warts and all, because you see some of the truest truths in it.

It’s love, and blink 182 gets it.

Taking Back Sunday- New Again (***)

Try as I might, I could not give New Again the additional ½ star I originally wanted to.

Now this is coming from someone that’s loved everything Taking Back Sunday has put out, someone that believes Tell All Your Friends is a landmark album of the 2000s, and someone that loves the strides they took musically on their last two records. But I suppose things change, and after two stellar albums with guitarist Fred Mascherino, Taking Back Sunday has returned with a new guitarist (Matt Fazzi), a new approach to their song writing, and a new sound with New Again.

Suffice to say, there is a great deal to get used to as a Taking Back Sunday fan.

Forgetting for a second that this band has been a revolving door of musicians since John Nolan’s departure a few years ago, this is the first time that a line up change has left such a dramatic impact on the band’s overall sound. While Taking Back Sunday experimented with stadium rock grandeur on 2006’s Louder Now, New Again tries incredibly hard to be a big sounding rock record.

From the snappy handclaps and chunky riffing on “Sink Into Me” to the pulsing bass work on the album’s title track, it’s clear that every melody line has been written to grab the listener, written to be slick and stick in your head. Unfortunately, this sacrifices some of the band’s uniqueness, dispensing their normally exciting buzz saw time changes that turn on a dime.

So in short, Taking Back Sunday try very hard to impress their listeners and it results in a set of songs that don’t always feel natural. The instrumentation is tight though, Mark O’Connell’s drumming fluttering and precise, Matt Rubano’s bass warm and fuzzy. Hell, Fazzi is a fine guitarist in his own right, exercising his fluid chops on cuts like the embittered “Everything Must Go,” but the band sorely misses Mascherino’s pop sensibilities.

While nothing on New Again is blatantly awful, a majority of these tracks come off like Louder Now b-sides: Fun and entertaining, but missing a certain something that prevents them from becoming truly memorable.

However, the songs that do end up standing out are the ones that seem to have the most musical tension in them, the ones with the natural build-ups and big crescendos. “Summer, Man” begins with a loopy guitar melody that explodes into a propulsive riff-work out, one that perfectly compliments Adam Lazzara’s rock star croon of “So go prove to the world/Well you've already proved/That you just couldn't do on your own…” Elsewhere, cuts like the driving “Capital M-E” and the U2 inspired ballad “Where My Mouth Is” display the bands new found versatility and musical range, but don’t always hit the mark lyrically.

This is a big problem with New Again and for the band itself.

In the past, Taking Back Sunday has ridden Lazzara’s snarky lyrics to really leave a mark, but New Again is the first time where the front man’s tongue has been hit or miss. For every “I was a tower and you were an airplane/We happened before we knew/What was happening…” as found on “Carpathia” there are clunkers such as “Cut Me Up Jenny’s,” “So cut me up, Jenny/Well, cut me up gently…” Lazzara loves tounge-in-cheek metaphors, but when every line HAS to be a one liner, and a hooky one at that, the result is tedious

But bar none, the hardest thing to get used to on New Again is how the band has simply dropped their duel vocal interplay.

This was a staple carried over from Nolan’s time, and Mascherino paid homage to it with his two albums with the group. Now, however, Taking Back Sunday has opted to have Lazzara lead their songs and supplement him with backing Beach Boy harmonies that make the group sound far too modern rock and far too tame. While this might seem like a minor criticism, the back and forth between Lazzara and whom ever the second guitarist was added a surprising amount energy and danger to their tracks. Now, it’s as if the group has to either play twice as fast or write a ballad twice as saccharine to do the trick.

Ultimately, New Again displays a group that’s aiming to be some sort of merchant of cool, but falls short where the group used to soar. While the record itself is easy to digest, the aggravating part is that New Again could have been more than just a record that sounded good. Sadly, the tracks here are so enamored with being fresh and new, that they don’t seem to stick with listeners the same way Taking Back Sunday’s old material does.

Hopefully in the future, the band will realize that new/clever doesn’t always mean better.

Sounds Like: There Is Nothing Left To Lose (Foo Fighters), Action (Punchline), Weezer (The Green Album) (Weezer)

Key Cuts: Summer, Man, Where My Mouth Is, Capital M-E

Click on the artwork to sample some of New Again for yourself!