Label: Fantasy Records
Released:Â 27th October 2023
It’s been a really long time since the last Taking Back Sunday album, so while ‘152’ is a reintroduction to the band, it also marks a sonic leap from what most would expect from those emo groundbreakers and rock’n’roll hall of famers.Â
Instead, this album is a shock to the system and is likely to be a grower for a lot of their “old school” fans. The band chose a producer whose credits include Demi Lovato and Chris Brown (hmmm – Ed) and subsequently knew very little of the band’s work in the last 20 years. The result is an album that floats between dark neo-pop like ‘Lightbringer’ and some mushy wedding numbers in ‘The One’ and ‘I Am The Only One Who Knows You.’
Despite that, the familiar Taking Back Sunday are still under the surface; you just have to dig a little deeper. There are moments it all comes together, like in the fanfare of ‘The Stranger’, but they’re not quite as often as the albums of old. It’s an extraordinary album, an unexpected turn and shows Taking Back Sunday have plenty of life in them yet.
