Taking Back Sunday
Louder Now
Warner Brothers Records
Three-and-a-half out of five stars
Taking Back Sunday’s latest album, Louder Now, is a pleasant surprise and an inside peek at the band’s revitalized style.
Louder Now breaks the tradition of classic punk three-chord melodies thanks to new member Fred Mascherino, who takes a lot of his influence from jazz. Mascherino not only adds a creative pulse to the guitar rifts, but he harps up on harmonies with lead singer Adam Lazzara and blends quite nicely with the band.
Those who think the rage and fire in the lyrical-based group would cinder quickly after a hiccup from the band’s former backup vocalist, John Nolan, are dead wrong. This explosive album of ear-pumping beats will boost anyone’s adrenaline and leave him or her wanting more.
Although the fresh sound is relevant in Louder Now, Taking Back Sunday still leaves room for past album rhythms to satisfy the band’s following.
Here’s a play-by-play recap of Louder Now:
The album commences with rapid guitar strokes in “What It Feels Like to Be a Ghost,” but is softened by Lazzara and Mascherino’s harmonics, which tease the band’s newfound tempo.
“Liar,” however, holds true to its foundation of punk rock with a basic chord sequence ending in screaming vocals, making you think the album will stay consistent with past albums Tell All Your Friends and Where You Want to Be.
“MakeDamnSure” follows “Liar” with a twist of poetic lyrics and quiet a baseline that picks up dramatically in the chorus, cementing the group’s hardcore, East Coast pulse.
“My Blue Heaven” explores the band’s new intricate guitar style, but doesn’t completely abandon its thought-felt, angry lyrics.
“Twenty-Twenty Surgery” stood out as my favorite, but if you asked me why, I couldn’t tell you.
“Divine Intervention” clearly showed the group’s evolution since the replacement of Nolan. The deep, gruff voice of Mascherino against the higher, clearer tone of Lazzara is well done in this song.
After listening to “Divine Intervention,” the album feels complete. The band never should have recorded “Miami.”
“Miami” basically consists of a ho-hum musical composition centering on the repetition of the word “Miami.” Even though the song loses the album’s luster, all the other tracks are definitely worth downloading. Just remember, it will take a few listens to truly enjoy the brand new sounds of Taking Back Sunday.
