Taking Back Sunday

Tell All Your Friends (2002)

TheEvilMonkey

I admit it. I walk into Borders and just sample whatever is on the short punk sampler. Four or five cds that may or may not spark my interest. Maybe Borders isn't the best place to find good punk music. But I sure as hell found my new favorite band there.

For some reason, this album caught my eye. I listened first to the track, "You're So Last Summer", and I immediately loved it. It's not exactly pop, it's not exactly emo, and it's not exactly punk. However, it's music that you can relate to. Even if you have no idea what the songs mean, you feel like the band is your best friend. They totally understand you, and you understand them.

The power of these lyrics is amazing. On track six, "Ghost Man On Third", the lyrics read- "Jinx me something crazy/thinking if it's three, then I'm as smooth as the skin that rolls across the small of your back." Now if that's not brilliant lyrics, I don't know quite what is. And the booklet- while it is a bit hard to follow along with the lyrics, they are written amazingly- like a diary, so that they don't seem just like lyrics- they seem like some kind of journal entry. You can actually read the lyric booklet. Like some kind of book.

Listen to every song on this album. My personal favorite, "There's No I In Team", is a powerful duet of sorts, that stems from a dispute with TBS and the band Brand New. After all though, I'm somewhat new to this genre of music. But I know one thing- this album is so powerful, it will blow you away. However, if you are a hardcore punk fan, this probably is not for you. But there is no doubt that fans of bands like Saves The Day and Thursday will like this. Don't be fooled by the reviewers. This band is one in it's own. No band comes close to the kind of sound the TBS produces. Please, buy this album now. Do yourself a favor and buy it. Or at least listen to it.