Taking Back Sunday Unveil 'Happiness Is'

BY Gregory AdamsPublished Jan 14, 2014

Taking Back Sunday went on a nostalgic tear last year with their TAYF10 Acoustic release, but the Long Island post-hardcore crew's 2014 will have them hocking new tunes for the faithful. Their previously teased sixth album, now dubbed Happiness Is, comes March 18 through new label home Hopeless Records.

According to a press release, the 11-song outing was written over the course of a year with "no involvement from a record label," apparently marking the first time this has happened since their 2002 debut Tell All Your Friends.

"There is no question to me that Happiness Is is the best unfiltered representation of what happens when the five of us get in a room together and that makes me really happy," vocalist Adam Lazzara said in a statement.

The album had the act working earlier at Michigan's Rancho Recordo with producer Marc Jacob Hudson (Saves the Day, the Swellers), as well as in Long Island with Mike Sapone (Brand New, O'Brother). Apparently tracks like "Stood a Chance" weave between "melodic moments and moody breakdowns," while the end result of the set's "It Takes More" had the track evolve from a driving rock tune into an "ambient ballad."

The first Happiness Is preview is "Flicker, Fade," which alternates from acoustic-driven verses to a crunchy, hard-swung chorus. You can check out the post-hardcore-flavoured single down below.

Lyrically, Lazzara is said to have delivered his most personal set of songs yet, filling up parts of the tracklist with direct love songs ("Like You Do").

"Through the years I've tried to stay pretty cryptic because often times it's easier not to have to explain yourself but on this record I was very direct in the sense I tried to use the simplest way to get an idea across," the frontman said in a statement. "In the past I don't think I ever would have let a song like 'Like You Do' go on an album because it's so heartfelt in a simple way and I also think it's actually one of the first love songs we've ever written."

Taking Back Sunday currently have a handful of European shows lined up in February, with dates in Asia and the U.S. to follow in March. You can see the show info here.

Happiness Is:

1. Preface

2. Flicker, Fade

3. Stood a Chance

4. All the Way

5. Beat Up Car

6. It Takes More

7. They Don't Have Any Friends

8. Better Homes and Gardens

9. Like You Do

10. We Were Younger Then

11. Nothing At All

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