By Ally Fisher
Celebrating 20 years of Taking Back Sunday, Twenty features a single-driven compilation of the band’s most major hits from “Timberwolves At New Jersey” off debut 2002 LP, Tell All Your Friends, to “You Can’t Look Back” from their 2016 release, Tidal Wave.
Starting with the cult-early aughts emo-identified single, “Cute Without The ‘E’ (Cut From The Team),” Twenty traces the band throughout their entire discography, highlighting their most iconic singles from each of their seven albums. “A Decade Under the Influence” is followed by partner Where You Want to Be single “Set Phasers To Stun,” reminding listeners where the band started with their gritty guitar chords along with abrasive lyrics and vocals from lead singer Adam Lazarra and then-backing vocalist Fred Mascherino.
Twenty then enters the Louder Now era where Taking Back Sunday embraced a more polished sound and smoother vocals, contributing to what would be their most successful album to date with fan-favorites “Liar (It Takes One To Know One),” “MakeDamnSure,” and “What’s It Feel Like To Be A Ghost?” a trifecta of alternative-rock anthems that would quite literally, rock for years to come.
Taking Back Sunday continued to ride the high and success of Louder Now through the release of that album’s successor New Again where the band continued to push out fun, fast and powerful rock songs like “Sink Into Me” and their following self-titled album’s lead single, “Faith (When I Let You Down).”
Twenty concludes with the band’s most recent release Tidal Wave and it’s singles such as title track “Tidal Wave” which alludes an 80s punk sound reminiscent of The Sex Pistols or The Clash.
Before the album closes though, fans are gifted with two new tracks from the band “All Ready To Go,” which is, at it’s most simplistic, a fucking good Taking Back Sunday song; and “A Song For Dan,” a melodic piano ballad that later incorporates the full-band.
At it’s most basic, Twenty is a compilation of the Taking Back Sunday’s greatest hits, perfect for fans just starting to get into the band or for long-time fans who want a refined pick of the band’s greatest hits.
