Which makes it a little tougher for me to establish proper context as a guy in his late thirties who never enamored himself too much with what was coming out of those dark corners; sure, I was aware of singles and had a passing familiarity, but Taking Back Sunday couldn't capture my interest all the way to the point that I bought an album.
Then again, maybe this non-partisan view makes me the perfect candidate to review Happiness Is, the band's sixth album (and first on an indie label after three swings with Warner Bros.). In streaming the album on YouTube, I kept seeing intermittent comments from supposed "fans" griping about the album's sound, missing former band members and, in some cases, wondering what the hell happened to this band after their first three albums (which are far superior because everybody knows that you stupid noob).
I had to find out for myself what the fuss was about, so I spent an hour or so sifting through earlier videos. Now, I get the allure for folks who were in their teens during the early aughts, but it didn't resonate with me. I know I'm an lame old man shaking his cane here, but nothing set it apart from fifty other bands who either broke onto the scene at the same time or came out of the woodwork in the wake of TBS' success. Worse, I didn't really get a palpable sense of progression.
Maybe that's the crux of it; from 2002's Tell All Your Friends through 2006's Louder Now, there weren't really any risks taken, no stylistic leaps, rather baby steps toward a more accessible sound that was better suited for their major label overlords to push to radio. That seemed to reach a head in 2009 with New Again before rejoining with a couple original members and reclaiming some crunch for their eponymous 2011 release.
With Happiness Is, there are noticeable differences; years of performance have sharpened their craft, and there's an undeniable maturity that's really starting to cut through the "emo" tag. Mind you, you can definitely still hear those cornerstone sounds at work here; it's still raw and emotional, but the accompanying music is more interested in painting pictures than breaking down walls. There's flavour, texture and substance here that makes for a rich record that holds interest from front to back.
If I'm permitted a gripe of my own, it's that Happiness Is sometimes sounds like a band playing catch up with Brand New, whose first act on a major label was their dark, moody masterpiece The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me while Taking Back Sunday were employing slicker production and arena-ready singles like MakeDamnSure. That's not a knock of the band, but rather the process; I can't attest to the band's intentions, but I get the feeling they may have been painted into a corner by their former employers.
Regardless of how it happened, to what extent or how long it took, you can really feel the evolution process accelerating on Happiness Is, from the harmonies bursting forth on Flicker, Fade to the haunted tones of It Takes More to the starry new wave thump of All The Way. It doesn't really sound much like their early records at all, and I think it's unfair to you and the band if you were hoping for that sound to be regurgitated again; they've outgrown it, and you wouldn't enjoy a disengaged version of it as much anyway, so why not take this for the good album it is and be happy they're not faking the selfish ideal you hold them to?
Happiness Is won't be called a classic or a game changer, and probably won't go down as one of their consensus best albums, but it's a major step forward as far as I'm concerned. If you need a place to pigeonhole it you can call it emo if it helps you sleep at night, but that needn't carry a damning stigma to it. There's no black nail polish here, and no slit wrists, just heartfelt rock songs that there's absolutely no shame in enjoying.
March 18, 2014 • Hopeless
Highlights Flicker, Fade • Stood a Chance • It Takes More
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