New Again by Taking Back Sunday

Taking Back Sunday’s new CD, entitled “New Again,” is ironic. As Adam Lazarra sings, “I’m ready to be new again,” on the opening track, you’re struck by how similar (and not new again) this sound is to the band’s last record. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, because ‘if it ain’t broken, why fix it?’ 2006’s “Louder Now” was the band’s highest-charting, biggest-selling record, so more of the same music is likely to be welcomed back.

From the first track, the album is high-energy, all-out emotional rock music. “New Again,” the first single, “Sink Into Me” and “Lonely, Lonely” all blaze a trail through the airwaves with their pace and intensity and set a great standard for the rest of the record.

“Summer, Man” briefly allows you to take a breath between all the coruscating guitars, but it also builds up to a grand chorus with a catchy hook. It’s got a more anthemic vibe than some of the other songs because, when Taking Back Sunday takes their wall of guitar sound back a layer of two, it allows the lyrics to stick with the listeners more than usual.

Perhaps the most average song on the record is “Where My Mouth Is.” Lazarra scales his vocals down quite a few decibels and the band looses some of their allure because of this. Luckily, the band nips their potential to fade into obscurity in the bud here and the album picks up again after this.

The band gets spiteful in a very un-subtle yet well-put way on “Capital M-E”, which is about ex-guitarist Fred Mascherino and his vanity. You can her and feel the intended sting with lyrics like “you slither away like the snake that you are… all I ever did was look up to you…” Taking Back Sunday definitely air their dirty laundry in the most melodic of ways.

There’s not much variety to the record as a whole, but it’s an energetic, in-your-face collection of songs and is bound to be lauded by alt-rockers everywhere.