New Again, I take this to mean, "Hey, we're Taking Back Sunday. No not that band that you have been listening to for six or seven years. We're a totally different group of dudes that have kept the same name despite numerous lineup changes." The fourth studio album and second on Warner Brothers has yet again a different lineup. The constants, somewhat, are singer Adam Lazzara, guitarist Eddie Reyes and drummer Mark O'Connell. Who cares about those other guys anyway?
Fred Mascherino left the band in 2007 stating, "The band was more about cooking food than making music." Harsh words from somebody who played with the core trio for two albums and nearly four years. New Again certainly misses Fred who seemed to almost bring competition with Adam as the dueling vocals that were present in the previous albums are non-existent on this one. Instead we get the rest of the guys echoing what we've just heard Adam sing, not what I would call original, or for that matter appealing.
Musically the album is typical Taking Back Sunday full of standard drum beats, picked guitar chords and mostly up-tempo-tap-your-foot-to-the-beat tracks. There does seem to be something missing, perhaps any advancement from previous work may be what I am looking for. The lead single "Sink Into Me" would be radio friendly, in 2003. Fall Out Boy seems to play the "catchy sing-along pop, but still kind of punk rock" much better, quite the reverse from where Taking Back Sunday was after album number two.
The vocals are less "emo" and more "blah" than the previous albums. For instance on "Summer, Man" a tribute to teenage angst or perhaps geared towards those summer salesman, "The summer is over and I doubt, I doubt/ I'll be seeing you around, I'll be seeing you around." Perhaps Lazarra knows he's not at the top of his game as "Where My Mouth Is" states, "Now I'm staring at the floor/ where my second life just ended/ I lost not one but two friends/ yeah I had it all/ sitting on top of the world/ but I threw it away/ just to prove I could/ I put my money where my mouth is/ see I recall quite perfectly/ who I was both before and after the drugs." Maybe Fred was telling the truth about music not being the focus of this band. Let's hope they turn it around after touring on this album and put out something worth listening to.
- Listen start to finish - 8
- Listen again within a week - 6
- Originality - 3
- Advancement - 1
- Remorse - 5
I completely agree. I listen to track 1, track 2 and then skip to another CD. Terrible album.
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