NEW FOUND GLORY - Out Without A Fight

Here the new New Found Glory record : Not Without A Fight. Critics much cooler than I will probably say this sounds just like every other New Found Glory record and leave it at that, but that would be a mistake. To brush off Not Without A Fight so quickly and easily, especially if you aren’t a fan of the pop punk genre, is taking the easy way out. It might be hard for some to admit, but there is something different about this album.

On Not Without A Fight (their sixth full length album) New Found Glory almost sounds like a band that just got a new lease on life. The band sounds revitalized and re-energized. Don’t get me wrong, the band hasn’t just released a groundbreaking concept album, this is still pop punk. New Found Glory’s core elements are still here but they seem to have embraced a bit more of their hardcore roots more so than on any album since their debut. (well Chad Gilbert, lead guitarist, was in Shai Hulud for crying out loud and the band is the alter ego of the ISHC)

Sure NFG doesn’t really move outside of their comfort zone, but neither did Bad Religion, The Descendents, The Lemonheads, or so many other bands that simply stick with what they do well. I’ve never heard critics criticize The Smiths because all their albums just sound like variations of one another. Critics dislike New Found Glory because they play pop punk; music most critics think is just a bit (or a lot) too juvenile for them. Well, it ain’t too juvenile for me.