Yet as the tracklisting and years of this retrospective – which celebrates 20 years of the Long Island band’s existence and features tracks from all seven of their studio albums – march on in chronological order, it’s patently obvious how Taking Back Sunday have always been developing musically and moving away from the emo tag. Everything Must Go, the closing track of 2009’s New Again, reveals a band making a transition to a different sound; grander in scope, but no less genuine.
That’s true, too, of Faith (When I Let You Down); Flicker, Fade; and Better Homes And Gardens, all songs that retain the spirit of the band’s early angst but with the added wisdom, maturity and melancholy – albeit one that’s more resigned than angry – that comes with age. The two new songs, meanwhile, show that TBS are still evolving. All Ready To Go is a spirited, boisterous anthem full of nuance, while A Song For Dan is a tender, piano-led ballad that leaves the door wide open for what comes next.
As such, Twenty serves as a phenomenal mile-marker for both the past and present, and shows off just what a phenomenal and important band Taking Back Sunday were, are, and will continue to be.
Verdict: KKKKK
Words: Mischa Pearlman