Taking Back Sunday

Taking Back Sunday peaked early. Its 2002 debut, Tell All Your Friends, epitomized the then-current third-wave emo sound, a catchy mix of punk intensity, pop hooks, and melodramatic lyrics. The band quickly moved from small clubs to large venues, and the strain took its toll: Bitter personal and creative differences led guitarist John Nolan and bassist Shaun Cooper to start Straylight Run, while Taking Back Sunday treaded water with a series of replacements and artistically reductive albums. (The most recent was 2009’s New Again, which the band has since dismissed.) With Straylight Run done and Taking Back Sunday needing new members again, it isn’t shocking that Nolan and Cooper have rejoined the band, but their acrimonious departures at least make it surprising. A new, self-titled album came out earlier this summer.

Updated 09/19/2011