Taking Back Sunday is the latest in a long line of bands playing the melodic punk/indie style. The band is tight, the songs are catchy, they are full of hooks, and proves an enjoyable listen. This is definitely a quality recording, a solid effort, but there is very little new ground covered here.
Vocally, things are done well, but it is the same style that so dominates this genre today: a guy singing at the top of his range on every song. Think the Saves the Day/Dashboard/Stryder model and you've got it. The one thing that separates Taking Back Sunday from those bands is the nicely done, appropriately placed, occasional screaming interspersed with the melodic vocals on a few tracks.
Lyrically, "Tell All Your Friends" has the typical socially driven material. While this record is not exactly the same thing that a number of other bands have been doing, it fails to leave the listener thinking they've stumbled across an original, exciting find. It's good, it's fun, it sticks in your head. It just seems to be missing something.
B
Other coverage for this album
Decapolis March 2002Reviewed by Tom BastianTaking Back Sunday, a band out of Amityville NY, formed back in November of 1999. The band's first release, a 5-song demo was released in February of 2001. In December 2001, Victory Records signed the band. They immediately headed into New Jersey's Big Blue Meanie Recording Studios with producer Sal Villanueva and engineer Tim Gilles (Thursday's 'Full Collapse') to begin work on this debut…Decapolis March 2002Reviewed by Nate BaileyTaking Back Sunday's "Tell All Your Friends" is in the same ballpark as Saves The Day, The Stryder etc. Another attempt to add passion and emotion to the energy of punk that is popular these days and stretches its roots back to the days of the late great Lifetime. The vocal style was the first thing that caught my attention. It's very similar to Saves The Day and in that respect leads you to make…Similar sounding releases
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