vital repress of third album by Long Island band Taking Back Sunday. Louder Now was the band’s first album for a major label. Considered at the time to be one of the standout acts of the east coast post-hardcore / emo / screamo scene, the band took a more straightforward rock approach to the songwriting process, incorporating influence from The Police and The Cure, even Guns ’N Roses and Motown, and tracks like “MakeDamnSure” and “Error: Operator” showcase Adam Lazzara’s deliberate attempts to tackle more ‘adult’ issues in his lyrics, leaving behind the high school melodrama and inter-band shade throwing of their first two albums. Written in Manhattan and recorded in L.A. with Third Eye Blind & Queens Of The Stone Age producer Eric Valentine. Initially released on CD in 2006, the vinyl release didn’t come until 2009 and has been out of print ever since, with second-hand prices for the record reaching comically high levels. Don’t sleep.

• music label: Warner Bros. Records 2017

reviewed by Kurupt FM Intern 07/2017