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, emo, post-hardcore, pop punk
Length	38:01
Label	Interscope
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.

Later on, the band would later announce that Fazzi and Rubano are no longer part of the band, they were not exactly kicked out, but rather "let go". Reason are that John Nolan and Shaun Cooper had reunited with the band only to release their eponymous LP Taking Back Sunday.

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

There are several recurring themes on the album, such as guns ("Cut Me Up Jenny", "Long Time Comin'"), houses ("Carpathia", "Everything Must Go"), and past drug use ("Lonely, Lonely", "Summer, Man" and "Where My Mouth Is"). The lyrics referencing houses are metaphoric of Adam Lazzara's relationship with his ex-fiancee, Chauntelle Dupree, guitarist of the band Eisley.

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. This is the only album by Taking Back Sunday to not have a certification from the RIAA.^[4]

Reception

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

New Again received generally favorable reviews from critics, acquiring an aggregrated metascore of 77% on review accumulator Metacritic.^[15] 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".^[6] For Matthew Niner of Pop Matters, "they have produced another solid album that cements their reputation as one of the most genuinely affecting and consistent bands in the current scene".^[10] Alternative Press named it the number one album of the year 2009.

In April 2010, Adam Lazzara answered questions on his formspring,^[16] commenting that New Again "was a gigantic step backwards" and that he was "not fully satisfied with what [he] put out".^[17] 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

All songs written and composed by Taking Back Sunday. 

No.	Title	Length
1.	"New Again"	3:33
2.	"Sink Into Me"	3:03
3.	"Lonely, Lonely"	2:49
4.	"Summer, Man"	3:51
5.	"Swing"	3:26
6.	"Where My Mouth Is"	3:52
7.	"Cut Me Up Jenny"	3:52
8.	"Catholic Knees"	2:48
9.	"Capital M-E"	2:49
10.	"Carpathia"	3:09
11.	"Everything Must Go"	4:44

iTunes Pre-Order Bonus Track
No.	Title	Length
12.	"Carpathia" (Dance Dicaprio version)	3:46

iTunes Bonus Track Version
No.	Title	Length
12.	"Long Time Comin'"	2:38
13.	"Sink Into Me" (Music video)	3:15

Limited Edition Bonus Tracks
No.	Title	Length
12.	"Didn't See That Coming" (Japan, South Korea & pre-order only)	3:07
13.	"Catholic Knees (26th St. Shakedown)" (Pre-order only)	3:09

Limited Edition DVD
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Making of the album"

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

Country	Date
United Kingdom	June 1, 2009
Canada
United States	June 2, 2009
South Korea
Australia	June 5, 2009
Japan	June 10, 2009
Brazil	June 18, 2009

External links

• Taking Back Sunday Official website

References

1. ^ TBS Radio Single. AbsolutePunk.net
2. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6CXmpOi62s
3. ^ [1]
4. ^ http://australian-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Taking+Back+Sunday
5. ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "New Again > Overview". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1567228. Retrieved 2009-09-15. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Scott Heisel. "FILE UNDER: What modern rock should sound like / Taking Back Sunday - New Again". Alternative Press. http://altpress.com/reviews/tbsnewagain.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-15. 
7. ^ Bianca Marcus. "Taking Back Sunday - New Again". ChartAttack. http://www.chartattack.com/reviews/70773/taking-back-sunday-new-again. Retrieved 2009-09-15. 
8. ^ Andy Greenwald. "New Again - Music Review". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20281036,00.html. Retrieved 2009-09-15. 
9. ^ Taking Back Sunday - New Again. Kerrang!. July 2009. pp. 52  Issue #1263.
10. ^ ^{a b} Matthew Niner. "Taking Back Sunday: New Again". Popmatters. http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/94028-taking-back-sunday-new-again. Retrieved 2009-09-15. 
11. ^ Taking Back Sunday - New Again. Q. July 2009. pp. 117. ""The result is an impressive but super slick collection of post-hardcore floor-fillers that's increasingly more "post" than "hardcore."" 
12. ^ Christian Hoard. "New Again: Taking Back Sunday". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/28324035/review/28565456/new_again. Retrieved 2009-09-15. 
13. ^ David Bevan. "Taking Back Sunday, 'New Again'". Spin. http://www.spin.com/reviews/taking-back-sunday-new-again-warner-bros. Retrieved 2009-09-15. 
14. ^ Channing Freeman. "Taking Back Sunday - New Again Review". Sputnikmusic. http://sputnikmusic.com/album.php?reviewid=30714. Retrieved 2009-09-15. 
15. ^ http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/takingbacksunday/newagain
16. ^ http://www.takingbacksunday.com/news/2010/04/26/adam-answers-your-questions
17. ^ http://www.formspring.me/adamdamnlazzara/q/478436252