The return of the original line up of TAKING BACK SUNDAY for this eponymous record has been long debated as a “will they / won’t they?” in terms of a return to their old style and in that respect at least, it’s a bit of a mixed bag;
There’s flashes of new and old throughout the record, and though the old guard of Taking Back Sunday fans will likely dissemble the bits reminiscent of the new, it’s got a great balance across their back catalogue stylistically with a bit of “new direction” thrown in for good measure.
Objectively, the record is sat firmly in the ‘grower’ camp for the large part and takes a few listens to settle in, but there’s as many big hooks as ever from the band and plenty to like throughout.
Perhaps a little without surprise considering the vast majority of the line up was present for the last effort, it’s very much a natural progression from ‘New Again’, and suffers from the same faults;
The slower songs feel a little like they suck the life out of the album’s flow, and it tends to tail off a bit towards the end, but with a bit of patience it’s a solid effort from the band, and one that no-one involved has anything to be ashamed of. There’s little to suggest that anything on ‘Taking Back Sunday‘ will end up being as ingrained into the new generation of music lovers as much as the band’s early material, but as a gateway it’s as strong as could be hoped for and shows the band still have plenty of legs with which to keep the Taking Back Sunday machine rolling.