Taking Back Sunday

Amityville, New York, emo-rockers Taking Back Sunday have gone through more lineup changes than Destiny's Child over the years, and the consistency of the band's music has suffered because of it. It's been quite some time since TBS created an album as memorable as vitriolic debut Tell All Your Friends, on which front man Adam Lazzara — who sort of looks like an unkempt Ashton Kutcher — screamed the best two lines in fucked-up relationship-song history: "The truth is you could slit my throat / And with my one last gasping breath, I'd apologize for bleeding on your shirt." Luckily, fans will find that this year's New Again lashes out with equally potent verbal venom. The lucky victims are Lazzara's ex-fiancée and ex-guitarist Fred Mascherino, who recently left to pursue a solo career. The raw, emotion-wracked material proves that TBS hasn't completely converted to a pop-infused hardcore band for pussies — at least not yet.