Taking Back Sunday - Happiness Is (Album Review)

I’ve heard the term ‘legacy’ thrown around about Taking Back Sunday about two times a week since they announced their new album Happiness Is. I've seen a vast amount of people try to turn legacy into a bad word, make the band sound dated, etc... The funny thing is the members of Taking Back Sunday are all relatively young. Legacy bands to me means bands more like Van Halen, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and so on. If Taking Back Sunday is a legacy band while the members are in their thirties what will they be when they are as seasoned as the aforementioned bands ages? A "post" legacy band? Enough with the ranting about this, on to the music.

Happiness Is definitely puts a smile on my face when I listen to it. This is without a doubt the best album the band has recorded since Louder Now. It sounds great production wise. I like the way things are mixed. Lazzara and Nolan sound the best we've heard them sound vocally in a while. I like the pacing of the album. This is the album I wanted the band to make when the "classic" line-up regrouped.

This album starts out great mostly. After a quick track called "Preface", which could have been left of in my opinion, it does do a pretty good job of building up the next two songs. Those songs "Flicker, Fade" and "Stood A Chance" are great back to back and get the album really kicking off in high fashion. Both songs are really good and songs I really enjoy a lot. Lazzara's vocals on "Flicker, Fade" show him in top form. "Like You Do" is a breath of fresh air from the group. I really like the vibe of the song, it's pretty good lyrically, and it’s an overall super catchy song. The bass on "All The Way" sounds great. The song is a slower song, but the interesting instrumentation and the way it was recorded makes it sound really cool.

This album is a really enjoyable release. Since I think this is the best album since Louder Now I also think it makes this a pretty strong release and a really strong output from the band. To be fair I've enjoyed most of what TBS has made to an extent, but this album to me is a big accomplishment for the band. It's better than okay. This is the band showing they've got more than plenty gas left in the tank to create meaningful solid songs.

Overall, Happiness Is should be an album that reminds you of the good times you've had listening to Taking Back Sunday, but also reminds you of the good times that are still yet to be had while listening to Taking Back Sunday. It may not go down as a classic in the history of the band for everyone. It is, however, an above average album from a band who still seems to be firing on all cylinders and continuing to churn out high quality material.