Pop-punk icons Taking Back Sunday recently released a self-titled album with all five original members. The new album, combined with the achievement of celebrating the 10year anniversary of their debut album Tell All Your Friends, has given them a new breath of life. They’re better than ever and kicking off an Australian tour tonight.
Since forming in 2002 they have had many lineup changes but the shift that happened in 2010 would be the most unexpected. In 2010 Taking Back Sunday announced that the original bassist Sean Cooper and guitarist John Nolan would be returning. This was not only exciting and unexpected news for the fans but also for the members of the band. “We definitely had no idea that this would happen,” explains Cooper. “When I left the band in 2003, I was very, very comfortable with that being the end. I was never longing to be back in the band when I wasn’t in it, but when my old band ended and Taking Back Sunday asked me to come back it was one of those things that of seemed to make sense at the time. When we all got in the room and started talking as friends again and we all started working on music it all seemed completely natural which is shocking to all of us. It’s a huge blessing to be able to do this, this much time later.”
The new CD is self-titled as the band felt the new record most represents not only who they were when they first started but who they have become. “We kind of felt like with all the lineup changes and things we have been through we wanted to put out to the world, hey, this is Taking Back Sunday. This is who we are, and this is what we will always be. There’s no going back. This is the best representation of who we are now, so we kind of just wanted to let that be known.”
Although some critics believe that the timing of the reformed lineup and release of the new album is just a way for Taking Back Sunday to cash in on the previous success of Tell All Your Friends, the band make it clear that this album is not only the best to date but shows how they have matured over the years. Not only are they incredibly happy with what they produced but the fans are lapping it up. “It’s been really great and I think it continues to grow. The more and more we tour, the more I’ve seen it catch on with people; they sing along louder and louder to the new songs, which is trilling to see, to see the record grow.”
“I think when the record came out we gave them something they weren’t really expecting and I think a lot of people had a preconceived idea that this would be a Tell All Your Friends part two reunion thing, a quick money grab to cash in on the nostalgia factor or something. We didn’t want to do something that would be that cheap. We wanted to do something that would hopefully further our career for the long run and to let people know that we are going to keep evolving and keep putting out the best songs that this band has released. So we wanted to drive a big point home with that and I think we accomplished that. Getting to see the growth at every tour and every show is proof of that.”
Tonight, they’ve arrived with their long-time friends New Found Glory as well as The Maine and This Time Next Year. They were in Australia for Soundwave 2012 and are wrapt to be heading back so soon. “Any chance we get to go to Australia we are very excited but to do it with friends like New Found Glory, who have been a great band for all these years, who we have looked up to and admired, is a real great thing. We feel very fortunate.”
Old fans will pleased to hear that, even with the new album, old favourites will not be neglected n their live show with the band aiming to play a mix from all albums.
“We want all the people after the show to be like ‘That was a great show. I heard all the songs that I wanted to hear.’ The band has five records and we try and include a little something from all of them, give people what they want. We’re not going to play all from the new record or all of Tell All Your Friends, we’re going to do something from the band’s entire catalogue.”
Sean continues, “I love playing the new songs because they are a lot of fun and are interesting and I like seeing the audience’s reaction as it grows nightly. We worked really hard on all of the songs, so to see the audience get won over night after night even more than they were the night before or the month before, depending on how often we toured at the place, is a cool thing to see. But the two old favourites that people grew up on like ‘Make Damn Sure’ and in particular ‘Cute Without The E’ – when people just go off to those songs, so many years later that’s really awarding as well.”
2012 is set to be a busy year with plans to take the new album over the world. “We are doing a whole lot of touring, [we’re ready to] play a lot of shows and just keep working. We are so proud of the record we have made that we are going to try and bring this thing to the entire world and then we’ve been doing that. We still have a whole lot of touring left and yeah it’s going to be a busy year for us for sure.”
