Taking Back Sunday - Tidal Wave (September 16, 2016) Album • Page 45

I was belting out that chorus in the car this morning. This and "Death Wolf" are my favorites for sure right now.

 

haha i had deliberately avoided live recordings of "holy water" but wow adam sounds great

 

Agreed. I think Adam sounds fine on "Holy Water". There's definitely other tracks which he sounds way more cringeworthy.

 

I honestly don't think he's sounded better on record than on this, at first impression.

I think it's helped by the fact that this may be the first time in their career they've had production I'd class as "good" and not just "serviceable"

 

I thought the production on Happiness was very good, just that after hearing this it needed more punch in retrospect. But I love how that album sounds. But before that I'd agree with you.

 

I think it's just a little too soft. There are some songs there that don't reach their potential due to that lack of punch. And they were processing his vocals more than seems to be happening here, where there's a bit more character

 

i am sooooo thrilled that... almost everyone likes this?

 

can't wait to listen to this. my friend who loves tbs also reminded me bad suns dropped something today. totally forgot they were a thing.

 

i don't think the opening track is as strong of an opener as "El Paso" and "Flicker Fade" were, but "Death Wolf" is still pretty rad. This is definitely the first TBS album I've listened to a few times in a row on the first day of its release in a looong time. The last two albums just fell so flat for me.

 

never understood the love for them...

 

The production on Happiness Is may have been a little softer than ideal, but in terms of creative choices it was outstanding. It has a real, distinct personality to it that adds to the songs and shapes how I think about that record.

 

I will say they seemed to be on the right track. "Flicker Fade" especially stands out to me. But I don't think they were "there" yet until this

 

"Homecoming" is a really great song. Digging that one for sure.

 

So far, I just can't get into this. Maybe the songwriting is good, but I really can't tell with how grating Adam's vocals are on this album; it just makes me cringe. Never thought I'd say it, but I think even the self titled was better than this. So far, this is my least favorite TBS record to date.

Was this not produced by Sapone this time? He seems like the only guy who knows what to do with Adam's voice at this point... he's back to sounding like his New Again/Self-titled self.

 

Call Come Coming, and Holy Water back to back.... Such jams I listen to those more than anything.

 

Strange, because to me, it sounds like barely any production work was done on this album heh. It feels very unpolished.

 

I think that's what I like, tbh.

 

Yeah, it'll especially sound too soft once I go back to it cause I think this record nails it.

 

it was all produced by sapone. (happiness is was divided between sapone and marc jacob hudson)

 

After one listen, the production feels much more hands off, more standard, raw rock production, aside from a few moments. That does give it more punch, but also none of the uniques vibes of Happiness Is, like the bridge of "Stood a Chance" or the verses of "All the Way" and "It Takes More," or the "Preface"/"Nothing at All" combo. I seem to be one of the few that holds HI in such high esteem though. I think it's their best outside of the first 3.

 

Think Adam sounds great here

 

i sort of agree but then there's like... all of "i felt it too" and "i'll find a way to make it what you want"

still can't tell if i like this more than happiness is or not. they're definitely the best two tbs records though *ducks*

 

I agree. Although, I really like New Again, too. Didn't really enjoy Stood a Chance, though, but it did have a good bridge.

 

Yeah, I normally would prefer it for a lot of other bands, but not for this one. It's unfortunate, but Adam just doesn't sound good to me.

He's off-key and pitchy at a lot of parts, and to me, it sounds like he has a bad cold and is losing his voice for most of the album. I'm glad other people like it, and I really hope it grows on me because this has been one of my favorite bands for 10 years now.

I don't mean any disrespect to the band or any other fans, though. Just doesn't go well with my ears, but I'm happy for them and it seems to be getting good reviews.

 

I think this album has some good moments like the last few releases. But they still have yet to recapture what I loved about them on their first 3 albums. Could just be the time frame those first few albums were released, I don't know. I've wanted to like each album since 09, but they just haven't done much for me.