New Again

New Again
Studio album by Taking Back Sunday
Released	June 1, 2009 (see release history)
Recorded	Late 2008–Early 2009
Genre	Alternative rock, post-hardcore, emo, pop punk
Length	38:01
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	David Kahne, Matt Squire, Jamie Siegel
Taking Back Sunday studio album chronology
Louder Now (2006) New Again (2009) Taking Back Sunday (2011)

New Again is the fourth studio album by American rock band Taking Back Sunday, released through Warner Bros. Records on June 1, 2009. It is the first and only album to include guitarist Matthew Fazzi after the departure of Fred Mascherino in late 2007. The album was produced by David Kahne, with a selection of tracks also produced by Matt Squire. Additional production on all tracks was done by Jamie Siegel.

In 2010, after promotion for the album had largely finished, the band announced that Fazzi and bass guitarist Matthew Rubano were no longer part of the band. According to lead vocalist Adam Lazzara, they were amicably "let go." Former band members John Nolan and Shaun Cooper soon reunited with the band to release their eponymous LP Taking Back Sunday in 2011. As of release of their eponymous album, the songs from New Again are rarely on the band's set list, with the exception of "Everything Must Go."

Release and promotion

The name of the album, New Again, was announced through the band's MySpace page on November 6, 2008. It was chosen because Adam Lazzara felt that they were a new band; he said, "We kicked around a bunch of different titles, but that one always remained the top of the list, and that’s because it really does feel like a new band."^{[citation needed]} A song off of the album, "Carpathia", was made available as a free download on December 21, 2008 to anybody that purchased a Taking Back Sunday Holiday Card Pack. The band then released a 7" vinyl with "Carpathia" and a live version of "Catholic Knees" on April 18.^{[citation needed]}

The album's first single, "Sink Into Me", was released on KROQ-FM on April 27, 2009.^[1] It was also released online via the iTunes Store on April 21. The music video for the first single premiered on May 11 on MTV.com, MTV2, MTVu and MTV Hits.

Artwork

The same day the band released the date the album would be out, they released the album artwork on their website.

In the past, the band have expressed that the number 152 always appears on the covers of their albums. On the Tell All Your Friends artwork it is simply written in the corner next to the album's title. On the artwork for Where You Want to Be, there is a sign saying "next exit 152 miles". On the Louder Now artwork, the price on the theater's sign is "$1.52", and on the New Again artwork, it has been hidden to a further extent. Hanging from the rear view mirror of the car are three fuzzy dice, showing the numbers 1, 5 and 2 respectively. Additionally, the CD design references the band's home of Nassau County, Long Island, with the Area code 516 appearing underneath the speedometer (which reads as 152 mph).

Special edition

Taking Back Sunday offered a special edition package, which came with a small model car with decals, an air freshener, three dice, a 2GB USB storage key, and a [fake] drivers license featuring one of the band members. The CD itself included an additional "making of the album" DVD which also featured a track-by-track commentary from the band, as well as an autographed booklet.^[2]

Lyrical themes

Several of the songs include lyrical references to guns, such as 'Summer, Man', in which Lazzara lists off different calibers of ammunition: "Nine, forty-five, twenty-two...". This motif is continued in the song 'Cut Me Up Jenny', which features the line: "You are the polished pearl grips of your father's .45", as well as in the bonus track 'Long Time Comin': "Halfway out of town loading your father's father's gun, the one he smuggled back from Germany after the war was won".

The songs 'Carpathia' and 'Everything Must Go' feature descriptive imagery of houses and failed attempts at starting a home, likely a reference to the calling off of Lazzara's engagement to Eisley guitarist Chauntelle Dupree.

Addiction is also a prevalent theme on the album, with songs such as 'Lonely, Lonely', 'Summer, Man', and 'Where My Mouth Is' referencing Lazzara's past drug use.

Several of the songs include references to a woman named Jenny. These songs are 'Cut Me Up Jenny', 'Winter Passing', and 'Didn't See That Coming' (the name is substituted with the word "gently" in the final chorus in a similar way as "gently" alternates with the name in chorus of "Cut Me Up Jenny"). Adam Lazzara has stated that Jenny is no one in particular, but rather "whoever you want her to be".

Sales

New Again debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200, selling 48,000 copies in its first week in the United States.^[3] The album also debuted at number 31 on the Australian ARIA Charts.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]
Alternative Press	[5]
Billboard	(favorable) [6]
Entertainment Weekly	A- [7]
Kerrang!	[8]
PopMatters	[9]
Q	[10]
Rolling Stone	[11]
Spin	(5/10)[12][13]
Sputnikmusic	[14]

New Again received generally favorable reviews from critics, acquiring an weighted average score of 77% on review aggregation website Metacritic.^[13] Scott Heisel of Alternative Press praised the record highly, stating that it "leaps forward as the best album of Taking Back Sunday's career to date".^[5] For Matthew Niner of PopMatters, "they have produced another solid album that cements their reputation as one of the most genuinely affecting and consistent bands in the current scene".^[9] Alternative Press named it the number one album of the year 2009.

Jon Pareles of The New York Times gave it a favorable review and said that "Such obvious imitation [of U2] isn’t good strategy; it diminishes well-made songs. Taking Back Sunday is better off merging its old blurted troubles with its new attention to detail."^[15] Edwin McFee of Hot Press, however, gave it a mixed review with the header: "Emo pin-ups milk last moments of glory."^[16]

In April 2010, Adam Lazzara answered questions on his formspring,^[17] commenting that New Again "was a gigantic step backwards" and that he was "not fully satisfied with what [he] put out".^[18] In June 2010, Eddie Reyes answered a question on his formspring commenting that he doesn't hate New Again "its just my least favorite album. This album was the worst album we've ever created." John Nolan stated that this album was the worst Taking Back Sunday album the band created constructively. He went on to state that he also did like 'New Again' and his favorite song of the album was 'Everything Must Go'

Track listing

• Winter Passing, a track that shows a major step away from a Punk ethic from Taking Back Sunday's previous release Louder Now (a very Rock-solid album) was slated for release on the album, but was released as a Digital single on the bands Bandcamp account. The track was labelled as a Single, and even had its own artwork.

Personnel

• Adam Lazzara - lead vocals
• Matthew Fazzi - guitar, keyboard, backing vocals
• Eddie Reyes - guitar
• Matt Rubano - bass, backing vocals
• Mark O'Connell - drums, percussion

Release history

References

External links

• Taking Back Sunday Official website