Taking Back Sunday — Where You Want To Be

Somewhere between "Anarchy In The U.K." and "All The Small Things," punk rock traded in its "fuck you" sneer for a "why me?" whimper. Making hardcore safe for Mid-western teenagers and Clear Channel radio programmers is Taking Back Sunday’s stock-in-trade and the Long Island five-piece’s second full-length finds the band poised to corner the screamy suburban emocore angst market. All the necessary components are present. Soaring multi-tracked vocals? Check. Pained howls? Check. String section? Check. Teen-drama heartbreak? Double-check. As overwrought as it may be, quality songwriting and some killer arrangements conceal Where You Want to Be's occasional off-the-chart cheese readings. Opener "Set Phasers To Stun" crashes and pops to a bouncy pop-punk beat, while "One-Eighty By Summer" piles loads of plaintive wailing over layers of chugging guitars and crisp drumming. Coming soon to a skatepark near you.

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