When I interviewed Cyrus Bolooki of New Found Glory last October I attained a great deal of useful info about the new album, including its title Not Without A Fight. Cyrus said “If anything you can take the “Not without a fight,” like we’re not going down without a fight, and we’re still here.” This quote couldn’t have been more accurate because after over ten years of writing albums, Not Without A Fight is born as one of their best yet. The men of NFG sure have proven they are not going anywhere. Working with producer Mark Hoppus of Blink 182, and freshly signed to Epitaph records, the sixth studio album couldn’t have been on a better track to success. The opening line “You can’t get rid of me that easily/ No, not without a fight,” sets the record straight right off the bat. This opening track “Right Where We Left Off” is some of the best pop/punk to be stamped onto a compact disc in the past year, coming from veterans of the genre. The music is classic NFG pop, a perfect mixture of punkyness from the classic Nothing Gold Can Stay, to the more melodic sounds of Coming Home. In “Don’t Let Her Pull You Down” the main pop/punk elements are equally as strong but backup vocals by Chad, Steven, and Ian give the song a slight bit of hardcore, in a poppy sense, if you can imagine that. The first single “Listen To Your Friends,” has Top 40 hit written all over it. And not the kind of Top 40 hit that makes you want to tear your ears off after a week, but the kind that screams “you know you want to play me again.” The irony here is that New Found Glory hit the nail on the head for a hit song, but after twelve years as a band it seems they deserve an honorary immunity from Top 40 stigma (or they are just that good). With the choruses roll-off-your tongue lyrics “Just then I found a note in my pocket it read/ ‘I never wanna see you again,’” Not Without A Fight’s first single is an adrenaline-producing, volume-upping good time about… listening to your friends. Plain and simple. A common theme in the song “Truck Stop Blues,” much like a number of past NFG songs, is that of being away from home through lyrics like “I'll never let this go/ I'm in a different state every night/ We're kept together by highways and telephone lines.” “I’ll Never Love Again,” “Reasons,” and “Such A Mess,” have eerily similar sounds to Catalyst. Heavy guitar, light speed drums and vocals that can almost make you feel lead singer Jordan singing his words right to your face. The love-sick defeatist lyrical themes that appear in many past NFG songs stand out in “Reasons.” The album finishes off with the three tracks “Heartless At Best,” “This Isn’t You,” and “Don’t Let This Be The End,” all encompassing repeatable qualities, and addictive sounds. Not Without A Fight is a giant ball of energy. Cyrus’ drums are so energized that you will almost break a sweat simply from listening to them. Lead and “gang” vocals are polished as always, and intensity doesn’t cease for a millisecond. From start to finish, this 37 minute long album offers what long term NFG fans love, what NFG “newbs” can grow to love, and what everyone will see as a classic pop/punk band who isn’t leaving us anytime soon. In fact, this album is the perfect first step to a whole new chapter for Jordan, Chad, Ian, Steve, and Cyrus. They’ve found a bit of “new found glory” for themselves. Purchase Not Without A Fight from New Found Glory's Myspace, or check out their new weekly webisodes! |
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