The group began recording Louder Now with Eric Valentine in September 2005 at Barefoot Studios in Los Angeles, California.

[8][9][10] In July 2005, Taking Back Sunday rented a room in Manhattan, which they shared with members of the Sleeping, and began writing songs with laptops and guitars for their next album.

[15] The group chose Valentine because he had produced Queens of the Stone Age's Songs for the Deaf (2002) and Third Eye Blind's self-titled album (1997).

Although they met with Howard Benson and Rob Cavallo, the band's "love of Eric's work kind of trumped any other meeting we had.

Frequently using a tape delay effect, Reyes did not use distortion pedals since the Orange amp "had a perfect gain sound in itself.

After positioning four microphones around (and inside) the bass drum, Valentine placed Mark O'Connell in a room "he calls the torture chamber.

[24][25] Lazzara said that Taking Back Sunday was "starting to grow up," no longer writing songs about being in high school and realizing that they "have to be an adult about some things.

[33] The intro to "My Blue Heaven" was reminiscent of "Wounded" by Third Eye Blind;[34] the lyrics during the chorus were taken from "Wedding Dress" by Breaking Pangaea.

[33] For "Twenty-Twenty Surgery" Lazzara had several lyrics and melodies, "but nothing was working and it was the most frustrating thing"; its chorus was the album's final composition.

The acoustic ballad "Divine Intervention" recalled the quieter work of Brand New,[33] and included a lyrical reference to "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music.

A shot of people and a marquee sign can be seen in the reflection of the box office glass, which Lazzara said was a nod to "What's It Feel Like to Be a Ghost".

[41] MTV called it "a powerful montage of violent images, all shot in arty slow motion," combined with footage of the band performing in a wind tunnel.

[61] In late February and early March 2007, they headlined a North American trek with support from Underoath and Armor for Sleep.

[64] On August 3 it was announced that O'Connell had injured his back, and he was replaced by Matchbook Romance drummer Aaron Stern for the remainder of the tour.

He began a solo project, the Color Fred, and remarked that Taking Back Sunday was "more about cooking food than making music".

[68] AbsolutePunk founder Jason Tate considered the album "closer to Northstar's Pollyanna" than to Where You Want to Be,[69] and said that the music wasn't "anything mind-blowing.

"[34] Scott Heisel wrote for Alternative Press that the band "[is] spot-on when they floor it or put it in park; it's the sputtering along in-between that hurts the record.

Club called Taking Back Sunday's sound on their debut album "fresh and raw" and their approach to Louder Now "formulaic".

"[70] Entertainment Weekly reviewer Clark Collis wrote that the album's title "justifies its name thanks to a chunkier array of riffs and choruses" compared to Where You Want to Be.

[35] Sarah Dean wrote on FasterLouder that Louder Now differs from the band's records; it has "a darker mood, bigger choruses and perhaps even catchier melodies," with the "emo-pop punk flavour Taking Back Sunday are renowned for.

"[71] Spence D. of IGN gave the album a score of 6.7 out of 10: "It's a safe bet to say that TBS diehards will soak up the 11 tracks with a sponge-like vengeance.

But tracks like 'My Blue Heaven', 'Spin', 'Divine Intervention' and 'I'll Let You Live' promise even greater things to come from this band, who are only now hinting at their growing sonic maturity.

"[75] NME gave the album a score of six out of ten: "It tails off towards the end, and TBS never quite shake the feeling that other people are doing this sort of thing far more thrillingly elsewhere.

"[68] Now reviewer Evan Davies wrote that although the group's fans and label had expectations, it "doesn't mean you have to put out the exact same fucking album twice in a row.

"[72] Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone wrote that the group "amped up their sound," with Valentine "delivering a turbocharged attack spiked with dark, catchy melodies and giant choruses.

"[73] For Stylus Magazine, Ian Cohen wrote that the album "tables the discussion" of whether Taking Back Sunday "embrace their arena destiny or disappear into the basement for cred that never really existed.

"[74] Cohen concluded, "As was the case with pop-metal, 'albums' weren't the objective, so much as a few ace singles and album tracks that hold serve, which is Louder Now in a nutshell.

[95] The music video for "MakeDamnSure" was nominated for an MTV2 Viewer's Choice award, which ultimately lost to "The Kill" (2006) by Thirty Seconds to Mars.

"[98] Rock Sound ranked it at number 55 on the list of best albums in their lifetime, stating that "nothing else in their back-catalogue boasts the huge songs, slick polish and, arguably, the heart of their major label debut.

[106] To help promote the tour, a career-spanning compilation Twenty (2019) was released,[107] which included "Liar (It Takes One to Know One)", "MakeDamnSure", "What's It Feel Like to Be a Ghost?"