Taking Back Sunday (album)

Taking Back Sunday
Studio album by Taking Back Sunday
Released June 28, 2011
Recorded September 2010–January 2011 in Tornillo, Texas
Genre Alternative rock, emo, post-hardcore, pop punk
Length 39:24
Label Warner Bros., Interscope
Producer Eric Valentine
Taking Back Sunday studio album chronology

New Again
(2009)		 Taking Back Sunday
(2011)		 Happiness Is
(2014)
Singles from Taking Back Sunday
  1. "Faith (When I Let You Down)"
    Released: May 3, 2011
  2. "This Is All Now"
    Released: June 7, 2011
  3. "You Got Me"
    Released: October 11, 2011

Taking Back Sunday is the eponymous fifth studio album by American rock band Taking Back Sunday, released through Warner Bros. Records on June 28, 2011. Produced by Eric Valentine. It is the band's first record with John Nolan and Shaun Cooper since Tell All Your Friends in 2002.

Background

On April 12, 2010, the Tell All Your Friends line-up of the band officially reunited, and announced plans to record a new album with Louder Now producer Eric Valentine.[1]

Pre-production on the album began on August 17, 2010, in El Paso, Texas. Recording began in September 2010, with the band announcing several working titles at the time: "Sad Saviour", "Don't Lose Faith in Me", "You Were Right", "Money", "Best Places to Be a Mom" and "El Paso", which was described by Adam Lazzara as the heaviest rock track the band has ever written.[2]

On November 16, 2010, Adam Lazzara has uploaded a demo version of "Best Places to Be a Mom" to his Soundcloud page. Around the same time, the band started performing the song live.[3] On December 20, 2010, the band released a Christmas song entitled "Merry Christmas I Missed You So Much", with no word if the song is set to be a part of the upcoming album or not.[4]

On January 10, 2011, the band has announced that recording was officially finished, and that the album is now in the mixing stage. On March 3, 2011, guitarist Eddie Reyes has revealed that 11 tracks are set to appear on the new album and that mixing was finished on 10 of the 11 songs already.[5]

On March 10, 2011, it was announced that mastering of the album was finished. On March 28, 2011, the band released a new song entitled "El Paso" on their YouTube page. The lyric video for the song has revealed that the album will be self-titled and will be released in the summer of 2011.[6] On March 30, 2011, Absolutepunk.net confirmed that the release date of the eponymous album would be on June 28, 2011.[7]

On April 6, 2011, the band performed a special show at Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey where they recorded footage for the upcoming music video for "El Paso", as well as debuting live a new song entitled "Faith (When I Let You Down)" (originally titled "Don't Lose Faith in Me").[8]

The album version of "Best Places to Be a Mom" was made available for download through the "Tsunami Relief: Download to Donate" compilation with a donation of $10 or more.[9]

On April 21, 2011, the band premiered the music video for "El Paso", directed by Thursday guitarist Steve Pedulla.[10]

On May 3, 2011, the band released the first official single from the album - "Faith (When I Let You Down)", a song which the band debuted live already on the Hoboken, NJ show on April 6.[11] The song was originally leaked online on April 29.[12]

On June 21, 2011, the entire album was made available to stream for their BandPage app on their Facebook page. The day the album was made available to stream, they stated "Today is the day. Stay here for a bit won't you?". Every track was added by the hour as the day passed on.[13]

On June 22, 2011, on the their official website, they posted new photos of the band currently working on a new music video for "Faith (When I Let You Down)". On June 23, the day after the release of the photos, the band posted an update on their Facebook page that they had "newly refreshed" their official website, along with a link to the Hot Topic website for a sneak peek behind the scenes footage for their new music video.[14]

On July 1, 2011, the band played an acoustic Livestream performance for Warner Bros. Records Summer Sessions.

On July 8, 2011, Taking Back Sunday released the video for "Faith (When I Let You Down)". It shows man, dressed in a big cat walking the streets. And at the end of the video the cat comes to the room, when Taking Back Sunday sang.

On November 7, 2011, Taking Back Sunday released the video for the UK single "You Got Me", which featured guitarist Eddie Reyes dancing on an empty stage.[15]

On March 19, 2012, Taking Back Sunday released the video for their second single "This Is All Now".

Reformation and production

When Taking Back Sunday confirmed the return of the Tell All Your Friends members, John Nolan and Shaun Cooper, Adam Lazzara told MTV News in an interview, "Well, having John and Shaun back in the band has nothing to do with any of the old records -- it has everything to do with being happy and what's good for the group's dynamics," he said, adding "because if things kept going the way they were going, there wouldn't have been another record at all."

Dwelling upon the reformation of the two, he also stumbled upon telling of Fazzi and Rubano. "Every person you encounter in your life, you learn a little something different from them, and I think that's a cool thing. I had an opportunity to share this big part of me with these two guys, and they were both amazing," he said. "Fazzi turned me to a lot of different bands and he exposed me to a lot of new ideas. Rubano was one of the best bass players that I've ever seen. With him, a lot of times, I remember getting lost in what he was playing. Just thinking about the conversation we had, it makes my stomach knot up ... but it got to the point where the bad times started to outweigh the good." He then went on to tell of Cooper and Nolan reforming with the band. Explaining what Mark had in mind for the future of the band, and past tensions of Nolan and Lazzara. "Mark had some crazy ideas, and sometimes they're dead on. And one day he called me and was like, 'Hey, man, what do you think about us going back to our original lineup?' And I was like, 'Are you crazy? I haven't talked to John in, like, seven years. I don't know if he'd want to do it,' " Lazzara said. "But he kept bringing it up, and then I got a call from John, and when he called, it felt like no time had passed. It felt like we had just talked a few days ago. We didn't start off talking about making music together — we were getting reacquainted with what had been going on in our lives. Because for me, I genuinely missed his friendship, and same with Shaun." He then added, "So when it started, it was more like I was happy to have this person back in my life. And then as those conversations went on, we started to send music back and forth ... and we were realistic about it. We both thought, 'There's a great chance this might not work,' " he continued. "But then it got to the point where we were like, 'Oh, man, I think this could work.' So we got together down in Texas, right near Juarez, Mexico, and right when we walked into that room and strapped instruments on, and the songs were just there. And what would typically take Taking Back Sunday six months to do we did in a week."

When on the road for a quite a while, the band had confirmed that they will be back in the studio to record what has become an eponymous alternative rock album. Produced by Eric Valentine.

"El Paso", the first track of the album was as Adam has said to be, "probably the most heaviest rock song we've ever written." adding "Once we got done with it, we ended up listening to it 15 or 16 times in a row, and were all kind of like, 'Holy shit'", he says. "When everybody's like 'Holy shit' about something, you're onto something. It's a total motorcycle-raging-down-the-highway kind of song."

"Sad Savior", the fourth track of the album, results in emotional, '50s-style, loose guitar work from Nolan, which is all the foundation for the song. It "gets really dirty" at the end, Lazzara says. "It's something that we've never done before, and I'm really proud of it," the singer explains. "There's a big thing I missed about John's guitar playing, especially coupled with Eddie."

"Money" which is later called "Money (Let It Go)", the sixth track off the album, which Nolan plays a major role for, "It really has this James Bond, kind of spy/surf-y vibe," says Lazzara. "It's really fuzzy, and John has a really cool surf-y solo"

"Don't Lose Your Faith In Me", which is later called "Faith (When I Let You Down)", marries a "huge, punishing" chorus with a gentler verse, what Lazzara feels for the song is a "roller coaster" to the vocalist.

"We haven't had a self-titled album, and going back to the original line-up, it seems appropriate," says Lazzara. "But who knows by the end of the recording process." The band had leaned forward to the name of the album to be self-titled and decided upon it.

Limited edition

On April 13, 2011, the band revealed the artwork and track listing's for the album. After this, the band then offered special pre-order limited edition bundles of the album; containing 3 "El Paso" session demo tracks and 3 "Eric Valentine" session demo tracks, with commentary tracks as well; the bundle also contained individual poster sleeves with handwritten lyrics written by Adam Lazzara.[16]

Reception

Since its release, the album has received a score of 77 out of 100 from Metacritic based on 7 "generally favorable reviews".[17] IGN has given it a score of 8.5 out of ten and said that the album "takes the harder edge of their last album and molds it into something they, and their fans, should be much happier with."[18]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic (77/100)[17]
Review scores
Source Rating
AbsolutePunk 81%[19]
Allmusic [20]
Alternative Press [21]
Blare [22]
Entertainment Weekly B+[23]
Kerrang! [24]
Newsday A−[25]
PopMatters [26]
Punknews [27]
Revolver [28]
Spin 6/10[29]
Sputnikmusic [30]

Commercial Performance

The album debuted at number 17 on the Billboard 200 chart, with first week sales of 27,000 copies in the United States.[31]

Touring

Taking Back Sunday had gone on tour with the bands Thursday, Colour Revolt, and The New Regime. PureVolume had teamed up with Taking Back Sunday and Thursday for an official tour sampler.[32]

The band had also released tour merchandise, along with an original sale of their album Taking Back Sunday.[33]

Throughout the previous summer tour, the band had also played this year's Summerfest in Milwaukee with Rise Against, Ben Harper, and Blue Öyster Cult.[34]

The band will also be playing on this year's Reading and Leeds Festivals in the UK with the bands Muse, The Strokes and My Chemical Romance.[35] Also this year's Independent Days Festival with the bands The Offspring, Simple Plan and No Use for a Name.[36]

Taking Back Sunday ended their summer tour in Cologne, Germany on September 7, 2011 at Burgerhaus Stollwerck.[37]

Taking Back Sunday had announced a Fall Tour with the bands The Maine and Bad Rabbits. The tour went on from October 1 to November 3.[38][39]

Track listing

Standard edition
No. Title Length
1. "El Paso"   3:17
2. "Faith (When I Let You Down)"   3:09
3. "Best Places to Be a Mom"   3:32
4. "Sad Savior"   3:19
5. "Who Are You Anyway?"   3:33
6. "Money (Let It Go)"   3:08
7. "This Is All Now"   4:04
8. "It Doesn't Feel a Thing Like Falling"   3:55
9. "Since You're Gone"   4:09
10. "You Got Me"   3:21
11. "Call Me in the Morning"   3:59
Total length:
 39:26

Personnel

Production Credits:[41]

Further reading

Billboard.com reported that Taking Back Sunday might do another follow-up album to the eponymous album. "We're constantly writing with one another, the whole time we'll be working on new material, too. This is where everybody's head is at; it's not like, 'Oh, we're getting back together and doing a reunion record.' It's not anything like that. We're definitely moving forward and into the future." Lazzara also explains how the reformation of the band was more positive and more cooperative. "Everybody's kind of grown up a lot. Compared to back then, we're all really comfortable with our abilities...There's a lot more trust and everybody's working more as a unit, whereas in the past I wouldn't ever really lean on any of the other guys for help with anything. On this record we were all kind of leaning on one another, and that's really important if you're working with five people." The band plans on also kicking off another tour, hopefully this year in the fall.[42]

In February 2013, Taking Back Sunday had revealed that they were writing new material for a follow-up to their 2011 self-titled release in a "secret mountain house".[43]

On June 7, 2013, Taking Back Sunday took to Twitter to confirm the recording of a follow-up to their self-titled 2011 album release had begun. They tweeted: "Phase one of recording the new record starts now... Happy Friday!"[44]

References

  1. ↑ "Taking Back Sunday - Taking Back Sunday [Webisode]". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  2. ↑ "In the Studio with Taking Back Sunday". SPIN. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  3. ↑ "New Taking Back Sunday Song". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  4. ↑ "Taking Back Sunday | Gratis muziek, tourneedata, foto's, video's". Myspace.com. 2011-06-28. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  5. ↑ "Twitter / Taking Back Sunday: 10 down, 1 to go! RT @Edd". Twitter.com. 2011-03-03. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  6. ↑ "Taking Back Sunday - El Paso [Lyric Video]". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  7. ↑ "Taking Back Sunday Release Date - News Article". AbsolutePunk.net. 2011-06-28. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  8. ↑ "Alternative Press | News | Watch Taking Back Sunday perform a new song "Don't Lose Your Faith In Me"". Altpress.com. 2011-04-07. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  9. ↑ "Music for Refief". Japan.downloadtodonate.org. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  10. ↑ "Alternative Press | APTV | Exclusive: Taking Back Sunday "El Paso" video premiere". Altpress.com. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  11. ↑ "Taking Back Sunday Detail New Album | News @". Ultimate-guitar.com. 2011-04-15. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  12. ↑ "Coca-Cola Exclusive: Taking Back Sunday - Faith (When I Let You Down)". YouTube. 2011-04-28. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  13. ↑ "Taking Back Sunday - BandPage". Facebook. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  14. ↑ "Photos And Sneak Peek From The FAITH (WHEN I LET YOU DOWN) Video Shoot". Taking Back Sunday. 2011-06-22. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  15. ↑ "Alternative Press | News | Taking Back Sunday release "You Got Me" music video". Altpress.com. 2011-11-07. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  16. ↑ "Taking Back Sunday Pre-Order". Takingbacksunday.com. 2011-06-28. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Critic reviews for Taking Back Sunday". Metacritic. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  18. ↑ Grischow, Chad (29 June 2011). "Taking Back Sunday: Taking Back Sunday Review". IGN. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  19. ↑ Beringer, Drew (28 June 2011). "Taking Back Sunday: Taking Back Sunday". AbsolutePunk. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  20. ↑ Heaney, Gregory (29 June 2011). "Taking Back Sunday - Taking Back Sunday". Allmusic. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  21. ↑ Heisel, Scott (31 May 2011). "Taking Back Sunday - Taking Back Sunday". Alternative Press. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  22. ↑ Rankin, Dan (28 June 2011). "REVIEW: Taking Back Sunday - "Taking Back Sunday"". BLARE Magazine. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  23. ↑ Anderson, Kyle (1 July 2011). "Albums: July 1, 2011 (Taking Back Sunday, Taking Back Sunday)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  24. ↑ "Taking Back Sunday - Taking Back Sunday" (#1370). Kerrang!. July 2011. p. 152.
  25. ↑ Balboa, Glenn (24 June 2011). "Taking Back Sunday's eclectic new CD". Newsday. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  26. ↑ Hauck, Kiel (19 July 2011). "Taking Back Sunday: Taking Back Sunday". PopMatters. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  27. ↑ Pope, Tori (28 June 2011). "Review: Taking Back Sunday: Taking Back Sunday (2011)". Punknews.org. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  28. ↑ Bayer, Jonah (28 June 2011). "Review: Taking Back Sunday – Taking Back Sunday". Revolver (magazine). Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  29. ↑ Wood, Mikael (26 June 2011). "Taking Back Sunday - Taking Back Sunday - Weekend Warriors: Emo vanguard's classic lineup returns with mixed results". Spin. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  30. ↑ Downer, Adam (22 June 2011). "Review: Taking Back Sunday - Taking Back Sunday". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
  31. ↑ http://www.tbshub.com/?q=node/158
  32. ↑ "Taking Back Sunday & Thursday Tour on PureVolume™". Purevolume.com. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  33. ↑ "Taking Back Sunday". Taking Back Sunday. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  34. ↑
  35. ↑ "Reading & Leeds Festival Line-Up Information - Festivals Guide 2012 - NME.COM - News, Reviews, Line-Ups, Photos, Videos, Information and More". Nme.Com. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  36. ↑ jonathan (2011-06-05). "Taking Back Sunday to Play I-Day Festival". TBSHub.com. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  37. ↑ "Taking Back Sunday — Cologne — Luxor — 07 September 2011". Songkick. 2011-09-07. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  38. ↑ "Alternative Press | News | Taking Back Sunday announce fall tour dates with the Maine and Bad Rabbits". Altpress.com. 2011-08-16. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  39. ↑ "Alternative Press | News | Exclusive: Taking Back Sunday announce support bands, timeframe for fall tour". Altpress.com. 2011-08-10. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  40. ↑ "iTunes - Music - Taking Back Sunday (Deluxe Version) by Taking Back Sunday". Itunes.apple.com. 2011-06-24. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  41. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/taking-back-sunday-mw0002150333/credits
  42. ↑ "Taking Back Sunday Already Eyeing Follow-Up to New Album". Billboard.com. 2009-09-14. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  43. ↑ http://www.underthegunreview.net/2013/06/07/taking-back-sunday-are-back-in-the-studio/
  44. ↑ https://twitter.com/TBSOfficial

External links