Louder Now
Louder Now is the third studio album by American rock band Taking Back Sunday. In April 2005, the group had begun writing material for the album. Two months later, they signed with Warner Bros. Records and contributed a song to the Fantastic Four soundtrack. Soon afterwards, the group rented a room in Manhattan where they composed songs for Louder Now. They came up with 20 songs, discarding half of them and recording demos of the remainder. The group began recording Louder Now with Eric Valentine in September 2005 at Barefoot Studios in Los Angeles, California. After Warner Bros. told them they did not need to rush, they recorded new demos. Recording ended on New Year's Day, 2006, and was followed by a tour of the UK, Australia and the U.S.
Louder Now
Louder Now was released on April 25, 2006, on Warner Bros. Records. Several weeks later, "MakeDamnSure" was released as a single; this was followed by a tour with Angels & Airwaves. A music video was released for "Twenty-Twenty Surgery", and the single was released a month later. A video for "Liar (It Takes One to Know One)" was released in September, before the single's release in November. Taking Back Sunday then began a two-month stint as part of the Taste of Chaos tour. A video album, The Louder Now DVD: PartOne, was released in December. The album included videos of the recording process, tour footage and music videos. "What's It Feel Like to Be a Ghost?" was released as a single on New Year's Eve. In early 2007 the group toured North America, followed by the release of "My Blue Heaven" as a single in April. After a tour with Linkin Park, guitarist Fred Mascherino left the group and was replaced by Matthew Fazzi.
Louder Now received generally favorable reviews from critics, and was voted Kerrang!'s album of the year. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 158,000 copies in its first week after release, reached the top 10 of several Billboard charts and the top 20 in Canada, Australia and the UK. Two months after its release, Louder Now was certified gold by the RIAA for sales of 500,000 copies and was later certified silver by the BPI for sales of 60,000 copies. As of May 2009, the album has sold 674,000 copies in the U.S.
Background and writing[edit]
In July 2004, Taking Back Sunday released Where You Want to Be on independent label Victory Records. The album became a bestselling independent rock album within a year, selling 634,000 copies,[1] and was certified gold by the RIAA.[2] The band toured frequently for eight months before beginning to compose material for their next album.[3] Vocalist Adam Lazzara said in April 2005 that the band was in "the early stages" of writing new songs.[4] In April and May the group went on a co-headlining tour with Jimmy Eat World,[5] introducing "Error: Operator" and "What's It Feel Like to Be a Ghost?".[3]
On June 10, it was announced that the band had signed with major label Warner Bros. Records and would begin recording their third album later in 2005.[1] That month, the group contributed "Error: Operator" (which differs from the final album version) to the video-game adaption of Fantastic Four. Activision, the game's developers, wanted the track written from the viewpoint of Mister Fantastic. The group was hesitant, according to Lazzara, since the character is an "extremely rich, extremely smart guy ... And I'm not very smart, and I'm not rich at all, so I couldn't really relate."[6] The song was also included on the film's soundtrack.[7] In June and August 2005, the band supported Green Day for two UK shows, and supported Weezer for a US stadium show; they were initially scheduled to headline Hellfest, though they later dropped off.[8][9][10]
In July 2005, Taking Back Sunday rented a room in Manhattan, which they shared with members of the Sleeping, and began writing songs with laptops and guitars for their next album.[10][11][12] Typically, they arrived at about 10 am; some evenings, Lazzara showed up after the band to write melodies.[11] The group wrote 20 songs before discarding half,[12] and recorded 14 or 15 demos in their home studio.[13] According to bassist Matt Rubano, Fred Mascherino and Adam Lazzara's lyrics "are coming into a golden age. The tracks are really more rocking and we're trying some new things, but it's still us."[3] For Where You Want to Be the group "didn't spend as much time playing together," but for Louder Now "we know each other's playing. We know what we want and don't want."[14]
Recording[edit]
On September 21, 2005, it was announced that Taking Back Sunday had begun recording their third album with Eric Valentine.[15] The group chose Valentine because he had produced Queens of the Stone Age's Songs for the Deaf (2002) and Third Eye Blind's self-titled album (1997). Although they met with Howard Benson and Rob Cavallo, the band's "love of Eric's work kind of trumped any other meeting we had."[11] Unlike their previous records, the group worked in a large studio[16] (Barefoot Studios in Los Angeles, California).[17] Warner Bros. told them, "Take your time and it's done when you're done with it,"[14] and the band did another set of demos with input from Valentine.[18] According to Mascherino, the group knew how they wanted the upcoming album to sound, so demoing again was a "thorough way to do it."[14] Working in a big studio, according to Lazzara, gave the band the opportunity to "have more than two guitar sounds."[19]
According to Rubano, the group wished to make a rock-oriented album—not in compositional style, but "maybe in the recording and the tones of the instruments." They brought out "a really unique character" in all the songs.[20] During the recording, guitarist Ed Reyes used Orange and Burman amplifiers. Most of his guitar tracks were recorded with an Epiphone Casino guitar, and he also used an Epiphone Crestwood guitar. Frequently using a tape delay effect, Reyes did not use distortion pedals since the Orange amp "had a perfect gain sound in itself."[13] Mascherino used his Gibson SG Special guitar during recording, which he said had "an amazing sound which is really warm and gives me my own sound."[13] He channeled it through a Marshall JCM800 amplifier, and also used a Gibson Firebird guitar when the group needed "a really tight sound."[13] The drums were recorded in three days. After positioning four microphones around (and inside) the bass drum, Valentine placed Mark O'Connell in a room "he calls the torture chamber."[21] According to the drummer, the room's acoustics made the drums sound "insane."[21]
By November the rhythm guitar, bass and drums were done, leaving the vocals and lead guitar to be finished.[16] Recording wrapped up on New Year's Day, 2006.[22] The songs were recorded with Pro Tools and transferred to analog tape for mixing,[13] which was done by Valentine.[17] Matt Radosevich engineered the recordings, assisted by Chris Roach.[17] The band recorded 14 songs, with 11 planned to make the final track listing.[23] The strings on "My Blue Heaven", arranged by Anton Patzner, were performed by Judgement Day. Patzner played violin and viola, and his brother Lewis played cello. Elena Mascherino contributed backing vocals to "I'll Let You Live", and Brian Gardner mastered the recordings at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood, California.[17] The group released behind-the-scenes studio clips,[23] often with snippets of new songs.[24][25]
Music and lyrics[edit]
Lazzara said that Taking Back Sunday was "starting to grow up," no longer writing songs about being in high school and realizing that they "have to be an adult about some things."[3] According to Mascherino, the group wanted to create something "timeless" to stand out from their peers; they "didn't want to just do the formula," and used piano, xylophone[12] and strings.[16] Alternative Press noted that Louder Now had a "much more full sound, much more tight" than Where You Want to Be.[11] MTV called the album "a big, ballsy, monster of a rock record,"[22] and its title affirms that it is a rock record.[26] The album's sound has been described as alternative rock,[27][28] emo pop,[29] pop-punk[30] and emo.[31]
"What's It Feel Like to Be a Ghost?" is, according to Lazzara, about a "pre-pre-midlife crisis."[32] Mascherino said that the song "charges forward," never letting "up and fully rocks the entire time."[26] Rubano called the opening guitar riff "not quite 'Paradise City', but it's a guitar riff where when we first came up with it, we were like, 'Whoa! Rock!'" He thought that "Liar (It Takes One to Know One)" sounded like a modern equivalent of the Police.[20] Lazzara called the song "110 miles-per-hour, very hard to play and totally rocking,"[19] and Mascherino considered it and "Spin" the group's fastest songs ever.[26] "MakeDamnSure" has a phone message in the bridge; Lazzara and his girlfriend were arguing at the time, and she left him a message. Lazzara showed it to Valentine, wanting to include it in the song.[11] According to Mascherino, "MakeDamnSure" received the greatest group effort of the album's songs.[12] "Up Against (Blackout)", a track with a time signature of 6/8, was compared to Mascherino's former band Breaking Pangaea.[33] The intro to "My Blue Heaven" was reminiscent of "Wounded" by Third Eye Blind;[34] the lyrics during the chorus were taken from "Wedding Dress" by Breaking Pangaea.[33]
For "Twenty-Twenty Surgery" Lazzara had several lyrics and melodies, "but nothing was working and it was the most frustrating thing"; its chorus was the album's final composition.[11] Mascherino called "Spin" "this album's 'The Union', but on steroids",[26][nb 1] drawing a comparison to Circa Survive. The acoustic ballad "Divine Intervention" recalled the quieter work of Brand New,[33] and included a lyrical reference to "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music.[35] Mascherino soloed on "Miami",[12] encouraged by Lazzara when the band was recording its demo.[11] Lazzara later called the solo "funny and great."[36] According to Mascherino, the group wanted the song "to sound as much like the Cure as possible, so it's all clean guitars."[26] He said that the drums on "I'll Let You Live" were recorded at a faster tempo, sounding "totally deeper" when played back;[37] the song evoked Breaking Pangaea's 11 minute song "Turning".[33] "Sleep" was the band's attempt at a Motown-inspired bass sound.[19] "Brooklyn (If You See Something, Say Something)" contains a "real floaty, airy pre-chorus and then it's upbeat but dark," according to Lazzara.[36] He did not regret dropping "Sleep" and "Brooklyn" from the final track listing "because when you listen to everything down, they just didn't really feel like they fit."[36]
Commercial performance[edit]
Louder Now was expected to sell 185,000 copies.[76] It sold 158,000 copies in its first week, and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200.[77] The album had lower first-week sales than Where You Want to Be, which had sold 164,000 copies. Louder Now was surpassed at the top of the chart by Godsmack's IV,[78] which sold 211,000 copies.[79] The album was number two on the Digital Albums chart,[80] number seven on the Top Rock Albums chart[81] and number nine on the Tastemaker Albums chart.[82] It was number five in Canada,[83] number 17 in Australia,[84] number 18 in the UK,[85] number 70 in Ireland[86] and number 90 in Japan.[87]
Two months after its release, Louder Now was certified gold by the RIAA.[2] By August 2006 the album had sold over 470,000 copies;[88] in November it was certified silver by the BPI,[89] and was number 124 on the Billboard 200 Albums year-end chart.[90] "MakeDamnSure" was number eight on the Alternative Songs chart,[91] number 25 on the Digital Songs chart[92] and number 36 on the UK Singles Chart.[85] "Twenty-Twenty Surgery" was number 60 on the UK Singles Chart.[85] "Liar (It Takes One to Know One)" was number 21 on the Alternative Songs chart[91] and number 83 on the UK Singles Chart.[85]
By May 2009, the album had sold 674,000 copies.[93]
Accolades and legacy[edit]
The album was one of Alternative Press' most-anticipated albums of the year,[94] and topped Kerrang!'s album-of-the-year poll.[95] The music video for "MakeDamnSure" was nominated for an MTV2 Viewer's Choice award, which ultimately lost to "The Kill" (2006) by Thirty Seconds to Mars.[58][96] TJ Horansky of Alternative Press wrote that with Louder Now, the group "started firing on all cylinders." Mascherino's "unique fluid and gruff vocals perfectly complement" Lazzara's "maniacal and effusive delivery," and Horansky called the vocals "much more natural" than Taking Back Sunday's previous albums.[97] Fuse.tv's Jason Lipshutz called Louder Now his second-favorite Taking Back Sunday album. According to Lipshutz, it "was a mainstream mission statement, with ferocious guitar work and choruses aimed squarely at arenas." With moments of "true grace and contemplation," the album was "thrilling and complex."[98] Rock Sound ranked it at number 55 on the list of best albums in their lifetime, stating that "nothing else in their back-catalogue boasts the huge songs, slick polish and, arguably, the heart of their major label debut."[99]
Louder Now has appeared on best-of emo album lists by The Daily Dot[100] and Loudwire.[101] Cleveland.com ranked "MakeDamnSure" at number 67 on their list of the top 100 pop-punk songs.[102] Alternative Press ranked "MakeDamnSure" at number 54 on their list of the best 100 singles from the 2000s.[103] The album was re-pressed on vinyl in June 2017,[104] which charted at number 16 on the Vinyl Albums chart.[105] Throughout 2019, the band performed Louder Now in its entirety for their 20th anniversary world tour. For cities in the US that had two shows back-to-back, the band would flip a coin to play either Louder Now or Where You Want to Be (2004) on the first night and the other album on the second night.[106] To help promote the tour, a career-spanning compilation Twenty (2019) was released,[107] which included "Liar (It Takes One to Know One)", "MakeDamnSure", "What's It Feel Like to Be a Ghost?" and "My Blue Heaven" from Louder Now.[108]