Taking Back Sunday – “Twenty” [Album Review]

It seems only fitting that when celebrating 20 years in the music industry and armed with a plethora of hit songs, you choose to unleash these by packaging them as an album in its own right. This is exactly what New York emo pioneers Taking Back Sunday have done by releasing Twenty, a compilation of the very best songs taken from seven full-length studio albums alongside two brand new tracks.

By opening with the anthemic “Cute Without the ‘E’ (Cut from the Team)” you are immediately transported back to the early/mid ’00s and the US emo scene which blossomed brightly around the world during this period. Rather than mix up the sequencing of tracks, this album chronologically journeys through the band’s career to date, with older hits such as “A Decade Under The Influence” and “MakeDamnSure” sounding as fresh and relevant as they did when originally released.

Tracks such as “Sink Into Me”, “Everything Must Go” and “Flicker, Fade” display such great musicianship, proving that although the band have adapted and experimented throughout the years with various line-up changes, they have always maintained their signature dual-vocal honesty, punk attitude and that timeless emo alt-rock sound. The first new song on this record titled “All Ready To Go” is a relatively straightforward alt-rock song, displaying all the signatures of the sound which has brought them so much success over the years, whilst “Song for Dan” is an epic slower piano-led ballad which I’m sure will have crowds on the upcoming worldwide anniversary tour singing louder than Adam Lazzara himself.

Check out the animated video for “All Ready To Go”:

For nostalgic fans wanting all the hits in one package, this is definitely an album for you and whilst this is by no means the end, with a new album on the horizon, Twenty seems a fitting way to introduce the next successful chapter in an illustrious career to date.

Twenty Track Listing:

1. Cute Without the ‘E’ (Cut from the Team)
2. You’re So Last Summer
3. Timberwolves at New Jersey
4. A Decade Under the Influence
5. Set Phasers to Stun
6. One-Eighty by Summer
7. Liar (It Takes One to Know One)
8. MakeDamnSure
9. What’s It Feel Like to Be a Ghost?
10. My Blue Heaven
11. Sink into Me
12. Everything Must Go
13. Faith (When I Let You Down)
14. Call Me in the Morning
15. Flicker, Fade
16. Better Homes and Gardens
17. Tidal Wave
18. You Can’t Look Back
19. Call Come Running
20. All Ready to Go
21. A Song for Dan

Run Time: 68:05
Release Date: January 11, 2019
Record Label: Concord Music Group

Tour Dates:

06/13 – Birmingham – O2 Institute
06/14 – Glasgow – Barrowlands
06/15 – Belfast – Limelight
06/16 – Dublin – Vicar Street
06/18 – London – Troxy
06/19 – Manchester – Academy
06/20 – Bristol – O2 Academy
06/23 – Amsterdam – Melkweg
06/24 – Cologne – Gloria
06/25 – Berlin – SO36
06/26 – Hamburg – Gruenspan
26/28-30 – Download Festival – Madrid

Check out some classic Taking Back Sunday in the form of “Cute Without the E”: