Taking Back Sunday – Tell All Your Friends
you're so last genre
She said
“Don’t, don’t let it go to your head
Boys like you are a dime a dozen
Boys like you are a dime a dozen”
She said
“You’re a touch overrated
You’re a lush and I hate it
But these grass stains on my knees
They won’t mean a thing”
Part of an elite club of albums on the cusp of the mainstream emo wave, Tell All Your Friends released in 2002 alongside The Used’s debut and Thrice’s The Illusion of Safety. This was a germinating genre, with a lot of bands experimenting in varied ways, some of which worked and some of which went nowhere. The Used’s whine, Finch’s nu-metal, Thrice’s serious-dude authenticity. My Chemical Romance’s I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love would follow the same year, bringing its eclectic tales of vampires and mafiosos. But Taking Back Sunday, with their strong simple image and muscular popularity, were on to a winner. It was them who really pencilled the blueprint for how the bulk of the secondary bands would present themselves. What they’d sing about and how they’d dress. And fashion is important, don’t deny it man, we’ve all seen the MySpace photos.
Adam Lazzara, drainpipe thin, face covered in a floppy swoop, became one of the new scene’s first heartthrobs. Pairing his looks with the kind of detached lover bravado found throughout Tell All Your Friends. 'Cause I’m a wishful thinker with the worst intentions. This will be the last chance you get to drop my name. This man was a heartbreaker, proudly, and there was plenty of drama behind the scenes to prove it. Just what a hungry, always-online generation were looking for. Proper celebrity rock boys who could be followed, captioned and blogged at every turn.
The songs were undeniably tight too. This wasn’t a pop outfit relying on looks. The looks just opened the doors. Brisk and clean pairings of post-hardcore and pop-punk. Enough raw energy from the back streets of Long Island and hooks to power them across internet pages. And singles! Big, big singles. Cute Without the E (Cut From the Team) and You’re So Last Summer were instant monsters. But there’s depth too, a richness to the album which has kept it en vogue for so long. The vocal interplay between Adam Lazzara and guitarist John Nolan is absolutely key, with an admirable gender fluidity allowing them to fully embody characters and argue with each other. Harmonies abound. Songs delve into sweetness with Great Romances of the 20th Century and get genuinely dark with Ghost Man on Third. Bluntly, Tell All Your Friends bridges busy scene writing with obvious accessibility. Released at just the right time, with the chic and the swagger, it was a winning combination: selling 110,000 copies in its first year, going Gold in 2005 and becoming Victory Records’ bestselling album of all time.
Nolan would depart the band after release, in typical TBS kiss-and-tell fashion. He formed Straylight Run, which is a wonderful band. With numerous other line-up changes following over the years. Their second album, Where You Want to Be—even more slick and polished, with possibly my favourite song of theirs: Set Phasers to Stun. Their major label foray into arena rock with Louder Now—everyone loves MakeDamnSure. Great albums, great singles, showing growth and poise. Allowing Taking Back Sunday to weather the ups and downs of popularity that come from cresting a movement. Finally, they settled into being familiar 00s institutions. Easy to raise an amateur dorm room cocktail to. It’ll be a sad day when they’re finally gone, but Tell All Your Friends for now.