Taking Back Sunday - Where You Want To Be - Music & Performance - CD

Long Island, NY emo-rockers Taking Back Sunday make a triumphant return with WHERE YOU WANT TO BE, the follow-up to their critically-acclaimed debut TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS. With passionate duel vocals and a twin guitar attack that combines the fury of rock w/ intensity and urgency of punk, WHERE YOU WANT TO BE is a must have for fans. Includes a bonus CD featuring a compilation of Victory Record's newest artists.

Typically when a band loses both a vocalist and a bass player shortly after its debut album is released, it doesn't bode well for the future of the band. But in the case of Taking Back Sunday, which saw singer/guitarist John Nolan and bassist Shaun Cooper make tracks mid-tour last year, it has only fueled an already angst-ridden fire.

Where You Want to Be, the follow-up to TBS's phenomenally successful 2002 debut Tell All Your Friends doesn't miss a beat, bringing in shoegazer Fred Mascherino to share vocals with lead singer Adam Lazzara. This time around they serve up 11 songs of break-ups and breakdowns, with each track driving yet another nail into a heart-shaped coffin.

Sounding much like a love child that was created by Blink 182 and Dashboard Confessional, Taking Back Sunday opens its sophomore disc with the solid "Set Phasers To Stun," and each track builds upon that thick slab of rock to create an impenetrable fortress of melodic suffering.

On "A Decade Under the Influence," the hopelessness and frustration is palpable, painting a picture of a relationship rapidly heading toward the rocks. Lazzarra and Mascherino layer screams upon pleas, alternately dreading the impending showdown and just wishing it were already over.

Further pre-breakup pessimism permeates "This Photograph Is Proof (I Know, You Know)." Accusations collide against anger and admissions that things simply aren't working any longer. Caught in a relationship that isn't quite bad enough to leave but no longer seems to offer the incentive for either of them to stay, they continue wrestling with facts and feelings while sidestepping any real decisions.

TBS shows its softer side on "New American Classic," a string-driven acoustic number that stands out from the other tracks on the album, not only because of its tempo but also because of its tone. A calm in the midst of an emotional storm, the song is the most level-headed approach to ending a relationship that the album has to offer.

"I Am Fred Astaire" takes a more juvenile approach to calling it quits. Instead of pulling the trigger on a failing relationship, he is intentionally and repeatedly pushing her buttons in an attempt to make her wave the white flag.

To close out the disc, Taking Back Sunday presents ". . . Slowdance on the Inside," a slow-moving, pain-soaked rocker that slowly grinds through an emotional meltdown. Saying anything to keep things from ending, the song depicts a man at an emotional crossroads as he continues feeling beat-down but refuses to give up.

There is nothing on Where You Want to Be that could be mistaken for optimism, but despite that, there's a sort of buoyancy to their pessimism that makes it something just short of infectious. If ever there were a form of self-pity you'd actually look forward to wallowing in, this would be it.

Performer	Taking Back Sunday
Music genre	Alternative
Music subgenre	Punk/New Wave
Media format	CD
Original release date	2012
Has parental advisory label	N
Number of discs	1
Track listing	Set Phasers to Stun, Bonus Mosh Pt. II, A Decade Under the Influence, This Photograph Is Proof (I Know You Know), The Union, New American Classic, I Am Fred Astaire, One-Eighty By Summer, Number Five with a Bullet, Little Devotional, ... Slowdance on the Inside, Ohio Is for Lovers [Multimedia Track], Smashed Into Pieces [Multimedia Track], Right Side of the Bed [Multimedia Track], Masterpiece [Multimedia Track], Drug Like
Record label	Victory
Songwriter	Taking Back Sunday
Track name	Set Phasers to Stun, This Photograph Is Proof (I Know You Know), A Decade Under the Influence, Bonus Mosh Pt. 2, Number Five With A Bullet, ... Slowdance On The Inside
Music media format	CD
Is edited	N
Is enhanced	N