It’s getting more and more crowded in the emocore corner of today’s musical landscape. Although more and more bands like Rival Schools and The Juliana Theory are escaping from the underground to take their chances on a bigger stage, the surplus of talent in the underground seems unstoppable. Taking Back Sunday is one of the latest contenders releasing their first album on Victory Records. A 5-piece band from Long Island, New York, their sound is somewhat typical for east coast emo bands. Intense, breakable vocals; painful harmonies, both screaming of their pain and softly and beautifully handing us their passionate lyrics. The vocals embrace driving dynamics, topping the essentials that are necessary to create enough emotions and purity to make a difference on the busy streets of emoland. The music itself is diverse enough to keep the album interesting until the very last song. Don’t expect any song to jump up from the others because this is a very consistent album. This is not an album that will shake your hips on the first run.

‘Tell All Your Friends’ needs a few runs in your cd-player to settle but when it does, its little teeth won’t release just like that. Fluent guitar breaks, nice up-tempo work and at times very powerful vocals. Songs like ‘You Know How I Do’ (great melody), ‘Bike Scene’ and ‘Great Romances From The 20th Century’ definitely raise the hair on my arms. Recognisable and beautifully written lyrics about heartache, loss and relationships are nicely dressed up with a touch of irony. At times vocalist Adam Lazarra sounds as if he just lost his first real love and he has no idea how to survive from this loss. So don’t be surprised if a song like ‘Bike Scene’ scratches that part of your memory you much rather forgot about. Anyway, if you’re open to a large dose of emotions and honesty supported by intense and driving rock music you will lose yourself in the conviction and the sincerity of this band; and if you like the work of Thursday and The Juliana Theory you will definitely embrace Taking Back Sunday.