Some PT-ers would have you believe ‘Tell All Your Friends’ is the greatest album ever written. It’s not. But it is a very, very good record that’s stood the test of time. Whether people like it or not it’s a genre classic, a band that became part of the first generation of nu-emo bands, bands like Brand New and Glassjaw who bust out of the New Jersey scene on a mainstream scale and released albums that set a scene – and continue, even now, to influence seventh and eighth generation bands who should really know better. TBS have tried to move their sound on a little bit, maybe forced into action by an ever-changing line-up, and at times it’s worked. This time round, however, it just doesn’t stand out in the same way as that first album did.
‘New Again’, for me, flatters to deceive. At times – ‘Capital M-E’ for instance – this record has huge singalong hooks and Adam Lazarra sounds as good as ever. But all too often the record floats along at mid-tempo; it’s all a bit one-paced and it sometimes desperately calls out for the singer to change direction and yelp and scream his way out. The first single, ‘Sink Into Me’, is a desperate change of direction but never really gets going for me. It’s quicker and choppier than the band’s recent output, but I don’t think the chorus has enough to get people going. And I’ve listened to it enough to know whether it will grow on me or not.
The disappointment continues throughout. ‘Where My Mouth Is’ and ‘Cut Me Up jenny’ just plod along a bit, reminding me of a band trying to do something slightly different but devoid of fresh ideas. There are chinks of light though. ‘Lonely Lonely’ is a pretty good song, as is ‘Summer, Man’. ‘New Again’ just doesn’t do it for me I’m afraid. A few spins and I’m straight back to ‘TAYF’. It’s everything this album isn’t – consistent, catchy and powerful, a record that did exactly what it said on the tin.