Similar Bands: Saves The Day, Fall Out Boy, Lifetime
Review:
It's hard to believe that after 12 years, Coral Springs Florida's New Found Glory is still running strong. Not Without A Fight marks the 10th time NFG has graced us with a new release. The newest outing is the first release on Epitaph records and the first time the band worked with Mark Hoppus (of Blink 182 fame) as a producer.
I can't help but start out and say that this album is a true return to form for New Found Glory. Catalyst was too arena friendly and over produced. Coming Home was by far the most well written album by the band but came off too mature for what the fans, myself included, have come to love. While I enjoyed both of those albums immensely, I still longed for them to return to fun days of the self titled album and Sticks And Stones.
The last record the band put out was an EP and a testing of the waters as far as dabbling into more of a punk-hardcore route rather than sticking with a straight pop-punk record. For this album it seems like they took the best parts of the EP and added it to material that should have been written around the time Sticks And Stones was written. The more and more I listen to the record this album really should have come out in 2003 rather than 2009. Its chock full of the cheesy and catchy riffs and choruses from their older material but has a beefed up chuggy-ness to it that is more reminiscent of parts of some of the newer albums. At times I even hear a clear influence from Lifetime and old Saves The Day. It's definitely a few steps backward in terms of progression for the band but at this point in their career they should be more focused on having fun rather than writing a Grammy nominated album. Pop-punk was never meant for awards.
If you know me then you know I have an unhealthy love for this band. However, what you might not know is that I don't necessarily jump right into their albums loving them right from the first strum of the guitar. I'm always super critical of NFG when I first sit down to listen to new material. Just like when I listened to Tip Of The Iceberg for the first time, I sensed an element of boredom. It wasn't until after a few listens that I really appreciated this album and the last EP. This CD has now set the record of the fastest album I was able to learn all the lyrics too because it's that damn good.
If you were a fan of NFG a few years ago but gave up on them when their sound became to "big", now would be a good time to give the band a second chance because this album sounds almost exactly like their older material. You'll be singing along in no time. I can't wait to see them on tour for this album.
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