‘Resurrection’ – New Found Glory
Release Date: OUT NOW
Record Label: Hopeless Records
Review By: Matt Henson
It’s been a tricky year for pop punk generals New Found Glory with the departure of Steve Klein, nonetheless, they’ve returned with their eighth studio album, Resurrection. Dusting them selves off to remind themselves, their fans and the scene why they are considered amongst the leading pop punk acts of today and to an entire generation. After the ‘pop-centric’ Radiosurgery, Resurrection returns to a sound that was more familiar on 2009’s ‘Not Without a Fight’, but with a new lease of life pumped through it after changing labels and being released on Hopeless Records.
Off the bat, the opening track ‘Selfless’, punches you in the ears with a hook that makes you think it could be 2004 again and immediately lets you know that you’re listening to a New Found Glory record. The loss of Klein isn’t evident with a noticeably fuller sound and a riff that is going to get you excited when you hear it at a live show. Lead vocalist Jordan Pundik exclaims “I Made a pledge to never grow up a bitter dinosaur / Never make mistakes that I made before / Never feel entitled / I just want to know I’ve contributed” which couldn’t set the tone any more accurately for the album.
The album seems to blend together their catchiest work of the past ten years ,with lyrical elements of the Drive-Thru era sprinkled through to give you that nostalgic high five that makes you remember why you love pop punk. Lyrically, you get exactly what you expect, ex-girlfriends, ex-best friends, songs about the road and not giving up on your dreams, pop punk 101. There are heart heavy songs like ‘Vicious Love’ that wouldn’t be out of place on Sticks And Stones, and the scathing ‘Angel’ which shows off a more sombre side to the album. You’re still granted songs like ‘Stories of a Different Kind’ with beats and tempos that will have kids circle pitting on sticky club floors, and the kind of chorus that will have the coolest guy at the back off the show screaming “whooooaah!” with everybody else.
In today’s thriving pop punk scene, you could be forgiven to assume that there may not be too much room for New Found Glory’s in the market. However, not straying too far from their formulaic and familiar song writing, Resurrection seems to have found the right chemistry in between its maturity and youth to cement its self into your play list rotation. In no way is the record breaking any moulds or going to reignite the scene, but it must be noted that going back to punkier roots blended with the heavy pop elements that made New Found Glory so successful, this record has found the perfect balance to keep them relevant.
The album also boasts guest appearances from Anthony Raner of Bayside, Scott Vogle from Terror and Diamond Youth drummer / Turnstile front man, Brendan Yates. This mix of artists again goes to show the versatility between young and old that New Found Glory bring together seamlessly. In this vein, their upcoming UK tour with The Story So Far and State Champs echoes this amalgamation of maturity and youth to a genre saturated with teenage stereotypes. If anything, this album shows the importance of New Found Glory to the scene and to the industry at the moment. After fifteen years in a niche genre, New Found Glory have been reflectively refining a sound to still sound exciting and mature, whilst simultaneously keeping their familiarity without alienating their fan base under any illusion of reinventing themselves to compete in today’s modern market. Whether you are 18 or 28, Resurrection will have you tapping your Vans and realising why New Found Glory will always be around to deliver consistently solid tunes.
Not only is pop punk not dead, it has belted up its Dickies, stage dived straight on top of you then bought you another beer after knocking it out of your hand!
