Taking Back Sunday

When Taking Back Sunday debuted in 2002 with Tell All Your Friends, there weren't a gazillion emo bands competing to express the overheated feelings of the nation's adolescent populace. Instead, only about half that many existed -- but of the new acts that have emerged since, most sound remarkably like (mmm-hmm) Taking Back Sunday. As a result, Louder Now, the latest disc by singer Adam Lazzara and his brethren, who appear tonight alongside Armor for Sleep and Underoath, seems even less original than it might under ordinary circumstances. Not that this situation has hurt the group from a commercial perspective. With modern-rock radio currently pre-disposed to slurping up precisely what Taking Back Sunday is offering, plenty of stations are still spinning "Liar (It Takes One to Know One)" nearly a full year after Louder's release -- and when Lazzara wails "Li-ARRR!" like a cuckolded teen with a wilting erection, it's tough to complain. Although the Sunday crew members have plenty of company these days, they're not emoters-come-lately.