New Found Glory

Florida's New Found Glory are self-proclaimed "easycore" - pop-punk that's closer to emo than the snotty rebellious brat style bands like Green Day and Blink-182 made popular prior to New Found Glory's success. Arguably the band that put indie label Drive Thru Records on the map, New Found Glory took advantage of Blink-182's rapid success to explode onto the mainstream, and even signed to Blink-182's label, MCA (now Geffen). They've been doing quite well for themselves since, and are starting to prove themselves beyond being another pop-punk clone.

It's All About the Girls [EP] (1997) 7 Thumbs Up

Even though this is NFG's first release, it's really not the best place to start. It was recorded when the band was very young, with a different drummer, Joe Morino, who isn't nearly as good as their current drummer, Cyrus Bolooki. While the songs are catchy, (especially "JB") the production quality is very low, and vocalist Jordan Pundik's voice sounds disturbingly high and whiny - probably since he didn't have the experience to sing well yet. This is only for diehard New Found Glory fans.

Nothing Gold Can Stay (1999) 9 Thumbs Up

This is New Found Glory's first full-length and debut on indie pop-punk/emo label Drive Thru Records. Fans of New Found Glory tend to agree that Nothing Gold Can Stay is the band's best album so far, and I'll have to second that. The sound is rawer without being underproduced. This is how a pop-punk record should sound - raw enough to be a punk record, the only difference being that the songs are about relationships instead of politics. Best of all, Jordan has thankfully learned to sing. While his voice still might be too high-pitched for the average punk fan, it fits NFG's music perfectly.

Opening track "Hit or Miss" is the perfect example of New Found Glory's catchy pop-punk fare. If you know NFG better from their major label albums, this is the original version of the song that would be rerecorded as their first single. "You've Got A Friend In Pennsylvania," "2's and 3's" and closing track "The Goodbye Song" are all great tracks that show NFG's gradual shift into their classic emo-y "easycore" sound instead of typical pop-punk. While their major label albums are good too, there's just something about the delivery and sound of this album that puts it a cut above the others.

From the Screen to Your Stereo [EP] (2000) 7 Thumbs Up

The songs are recorded with the same awesome production as Nothing Gold Can Stay, but how good a mark do you honestly want me to give to an EP that's nothing but covers of movie songs? Jordan's vocal skills continue to improve every album, and the band sounds noticeably tighter. But an entire EP of covers? Movie song covers? It's funny at first, but loses its "ironic value" or whatever after the first couple of listens. Punk bands covering pop songs live is a bit cheesy in itself, let alone releasing it on CD. This is one of those late-night "Dude! What if we did..." ideas that should have never been put to recording. Of course, the band is still in top form, so I'll give it a 7 and recommend you download the songs before you consider buying.

New Found Glory (2000) 8 Thumbs Up

Major label MCA isn't content with having just one giant pop-punk band making money for them with Blink-182: they need two! And so, New Found Glory was signed and released a self-titled album. With every label now scrambling to have a Blink-182 or Good Charlotte of their own before something else replaces pop-punk as the biggest trend, I'm a bit surprised a competing label didn't pick up NFG instead. Either way, despite what purists may tell you, major label success hasn't made New Found Glory any worse for the wear. If anything, it's made them better by allowing them better production and equipment. The band sounds great, and cool vocal harmonies and catchy hooks are abound.

As I mentioned before, this CD contains a rerecording of "Hit or Miss," which became NFG's first hit. Personally, I like the songs on this album that show off New Found Glory's humour rather than their soft heartbroken side, like "Boy Crazy," which makes fun of arrogant teenage girls who think every guy wants to go out with them. Opening track "Better Off Dead" and "Dressed To Kill" prove that New Found Glory can still write catchy pop-punk even on a major, and closing track "Ballad For the Lost Romantics" is the perfect way to end the album. This is a solid effort, and proves that NFG can gain their own fanbase without riding on the coattails of other pop-punk bands.

Sticks and Stones (2002) 8 Thumbs Up

After having a hit with their self-titled album instead of running the risk of being dropped from their major as just another useless pop-punk clone, (like what happened to MCA's River City Rebels) NFG followed their major label debut up with Sticks and Stones, which became even more successful with singles "My Friends Over You," "Head On Collision," and "Understatement." I noticed one thing with this album - New Found Glory is giving their songs more obvious titles based off words in the chorus, instead of some crazy title they probably pulled out of nowhere. Is this an attempt at being more commercially viable, or just the band trying to distance themselves from emo bands with pretentious 20 word titles? It doesn't matter, as NFG delivers with another consistent album that doesn't sound anything like a corrupted sell-out band. Repeat after me, kids: "Success does not equal sell out. Changing your music is selling out."

The singles I mentioned above are some of the best songs on the album, proving that NFG know how to pick winners. "Forget My Name" is probably the best track on the album and one of New Found Glory's best, though. "It's Been A Summer" and "Something I Call Personality," which features Blink-182's bassist Mark Hoppus on, uh, bass, are great pop-punk tracks. The band is just getting better and better with experience. They've been around long enough to learn how to play their instruments and write a good song, but haven't hit their peak yet. I'm impressed that NFG can continue to put out consistantly good pop-punk, considering the genre has become so tired and cliche.

Catalyst (2004) 8 Thumbs Up

After Blink-182's progress into a more serious form of pop-punk, every other pop-punk band began announcing that their next record would be dark and serious, including NFG. NFG is the first mainstream pop-punk band to release another record after Blink-182's, and do they follow up on their promise? Kinda. The band's instrumental work has progressed far beyond what it was four years ago. Guitarists Chad Gilbert and Steve Klein (who writes all the lyrics) sound great on this album. Chad's influence with his former band, legendary hardcore punkers Shai Hulud, has given him the ability to really shine on this record. Unfortunately, Jordan's high-pitched vocal abilities detract from any serious atmosphere this recording would have picked up.

New Found Glory is still writing about soured relationships and what not, but even they seem to be affected by the world around them. The band has taken a surprising anti-Bush stance, which shines on "No News is Good News," an attack on the media. Political NFG - now there's something I never thought I'd see. The "Intro" track rails against poser pop-punk bands, accusing them of trying to "market feelings." It seems to have specific bands in mind...I wonder if they know something we don't? Even the relationship tracks have moved beyond the naitivity of first kisses into deeper introspection. It's not super-serious, but it's a definite progression away from what I was expecting. I'd like to see NFG keep this up; I think they realize pop-punk is a dying trend.

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