Taking Back Sunday - 152 (October 27, 2023) Album • Page 105

Each reunion album has a parallel to the pre-reunion band.

152 is the closet to a TAYF we’ve gotten from the band since all those live songs. The raw energy is there, but it’s decades older and more refined. I swear Keep Going could be a long lost demo from the original TAYF follow up.

Happiness Is… is WYWTB. The guitars sound fuller like they can fill an arena, the songs have a little more edge to them and this sense of longing and maturity. It’s a step above the previous effort. HI is the closest they’ve come to repeating the sound on WYWTB. Flicker Fade reminds me of Decade. Beat Up Car and They Don’t Have Any Friends are cut from the same cloth as Bonus Mosh and The Union.

Tidal Wave is Louder Now. These two don't sound all that similar, but they are both solid and in many ways the most radio friendly work they have ever put out. It feels like a group comfortable with each other and knowing how to write a hit. And though I don’t know if this one ended up with a ton of commercial success, songs like Tidal Wave, Can’t Look Back, and Call Come Running are their most single worthy songs since MakeDamnSure and Liar.

S/T is New Again. After the excitement of a new (or reunited) lineup wears off, you can see it for what it is. A not terrible, but kind of awkward collection of songs made by a group who don’t quite fit together right now and needed more time and probably a different producer to get the most out of them. Still, there are some classics on here like This Is All Now (I equate it to Swing from NA) and Call Me In The Morning (let’s go with fellow closer, Everything Must Go).

TLDR: 152=TAYF, HI=WYWTB, TW=LN, ST=NA.

 

I think I might disagree with every sentence there somehow haha

 

I’ll admit to some of it being a stretch but I stand by it.

 

I don't think it sounds that bad. Eric Valentine is a legendary producer. What happened?

 

Holy Fuck they brought out Fred tonight!!!

 

Fred played on Liar and MDS?! Big group hug and bow at the end?! I picked a bad year to skip Starland

 

Does this mean anything, guys?!!?

 

They also played Existentialism on Prom Night during the VIP set before the show.

 

It means Mark is for sure not in the band lol

 

This was honestly something I was looking forward to after hearing Mark was out of the band. Now they can invite old members back without him being a dickhead about it.

 

That’s awesome

 

Cool vibes all around

 

Rad

 

I dunno guys, sure sounds like they're breaking up. [\s]

 

Okay, if we lose Mark but gain Fred, I ain't mad. I bet Nate can play drums anyway. Man's a machine lol

 

I thought you said they should retire?

 

The retirement post was clearly sarcasm?

 

Oh damn. Even if it’s just for shows this is still pretty damn cool.

 

Testing waters for a Louder Now anniversary tour

 

can’t lie. teared up a little bit watching the videos. that was a special moment.

 

Wow, Mark is gone gone. He despised Fred.

 

this is definitely the best confirmation we will get, haha.

 

I will gladly take Mark out for Fred back.

 

Y’all say the darndest things sometimes