One of the biggest signings ever made by Victory Records, Taking Back Sunday quickly gained fame with 2002’s Tell All Your Friends. Released right alongside a time where bands like The Used, My Chemical Romance, Thursday, and Finch (just to name a few) were gaining notable attention in the scene, the album immediately catapulted TBS to fame. With a sound that drew from emo, alt-rock, and even post-hardcore, the record was recorded while all the members of TBS still worked day jobs – and even early on, it was clear the band knew how to write a big chorus and write lyrics that were destined for MySpace bulletin status. Led by huge singles “Cute Without The ‘E’ (Cut From The Team)” and “You’re So Last Summer”, the album eventually became both the band and Victory Records’ best-selling release
The album has now become the band’s first-ever RIAA-certified Platinum record, denoting sales of over one million copies in the USA. The band’s subsequent albums, 2004’s Where You Want To Be and 2006’s Louder Now, continued the band’s success as they headed toward a burgeoning mainstream audience. The impact it had on a generation of young fans cannot be overstated – released as nu-metal (though still popular) was starting to fade away from the mainstream, it showcased the momentum that emo and post-hardcore bands were having in its wake. And there was obviously plenty more to come, too.
