Since their formation in 1997, New Found Glory have consistently served as a major influence to the genre of pop-punk as whole. Albums such as New Found Glory and Sticks And Stones were strong enough to not only stand the test of time, but also to carry the Florida quintet through those times that saw fans questioning New Found Glory’s more daring changes in musical direction. It seems however that the band have come full circle over their 14 years, taking with them the best parts of their career to make Radiosurgey, an album to truly serve the devout following they have garnered.
Opening with the title track, Radiosurgery, it becomes apparent that when guitarist Chad Gilbert said on the band’s website that they “wanted to go back to more of the roots of punk rock and pop punk and put a whole new NFG spin on it” he certainly meant it. Radiosurgery begins as the album means to go on, with a chorus so catchy that it will stay with the listener for days.
Anthem For The Unwanted is up next and a pulse-setting drum beat underneath a lone guitar make way for luscious “oooh-ooh-oooh”’s that will be a future staple New Found Glory’s live sets. The song progresses to be a gorgeous slice of pop-punk that would sit well next to the endless catalogue of catchy pop-punk this band have already given the world.
Drill It In My Brain enters third and sounds as though it has been stolen from the recording sessions for 2000’s album New Found Glory and then given the production care that modern music is used to. The big chorus will provide fans with even more sing-along material and will definitely make it harder for New Found Glory themselves to devise a setlist.
A sample explaining how “every girl wants her guy” opens fourth track I’m Not The One which, from the off, could be the prequel to 2009’s Listen To Your Friends song both musically and lyrically. As frontman Jordan Pundik sings of “knockin’ on your bedroom door; standing here wondering what I’m doing this for”, it becomes apparent to the listener that up until now, there have been very few lyrical moments on Radiosurgery where New Found Glory possess the teenage angst they’re known for. As I’m Not The One progresses, it becomes further apparent that New Found Glory no longer represent the lost youth – they now seem to be speaking for adult frustration.
Ready, Aim, Fire! opens with a riff that sounds rather similar to a certain Bowling For Soup track, however this will be lost on most listeners as this track breaks into it’s stride. Ready, Aim, Fire! sounds like it would fit perfectly on 2009’s Not Without A Fight and fans will instantly warm to Pundik’s singing in the chorus that he wants to “set this whole town on fire; take you with me to watch it burn”.
If any band has mastered a gorgeous bass sound it is New Found Glory, so seventh song Dumped will please devout NFG fans as it opens with an all too rare, however short, bass line from Ian Grushka. The huge chorus hits the heart with pinpoint accuracy as the band repeat, “you were, you were the only one to break my heart” and deal fans with a dose of the vulnerability that recalls the early releases of the Floridians. Dumped ends with one of the best key-changes you will ever hear and will, nine out of ten times, render the listener a grinning mess.
Whether or not New Found Glory are paying tribute to Grease with the title Summer Fling, Don’t Mean A Thing is irrelevant as this song represents New Found Glory down to the finest detail. Title or no title, this song contains every ingredient New Found Glory have used to propel themselves ahead of the competition and stands as a perfect example of why they are still there. Well paced vocals and memorable lyrics that speak of strength in the face of a wily female will make this a song the male fans of NFG will carry with them long after the album’s release.
Though still upbeat, Radiosurgery’s eighth song Caught In The Act is the album’s gentlest. Featuring a female vocalist in the form of Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino who sings the majority of the song with frontman Jordan Pundik, it seems that Chad Gilbert got it right when he told Alternate Press that the song “called for a female backing vocal”. As the pair sings about a one-night stand they’ll “regret” but “never forget”, the presence of a female vocal never sounds out of place and complements the mood of a song that sounds timeless and like it could be from any American Prom-movie.
On a cathartic album that, according to the band mainly deals with the aftermath of a heavy break-up, Memories And Battle Scars is like a quick, relieving breath of fresh air – though only just. Pundik sings that he wants to “kiss you so hard that your lips bleed” and wants to “hold you so tight that your ribs break” and, despite the romantic sentiment, there remains the twisted air of a person making sense of a situation that the listener will realise has haunted the album up until now. New Found Glory make tragedy sound pretty but still provide an insight to a trouble soul in terms of lyrics.
Opening with a infectious, stomping riff, Trainwreck follows in a similar vain as Pundik warns in the chorus that “falling in love is like a trainwreck; if you make it out alive you still haven’t made it”. The key ingredient to bands as popular as New Found Glory is how relatable they are – with this in mind, older fans may still feel at home with Radiosurgery but younger fans may not be won by such ominous lyrics from a band who’s most famous mantra has always been “I’d still pick my friends over you”.
At 3.28, Map Of Your Body is Radiosurgery’s longest song and as Pundik starts by saying “things are looking up, now the stars are all aligned, I prefer apologies”, it seems that in the final song New Found Glory are closing a negative chapter at the end of this album and are ready once again for a positive outlook. Lines such as “you’ll never find a way out without me” suggest self-empowerment from NFG and promise hope for a band that usually provide happiness for those in need of it.
As Map Of Your Body closes Radiosurgery, it becomes apparent that New Found Glory have once again created an album that embodies heart fans have come to adore them for. However, as happy as the album sounds musically, the band present in their lyrics an album that is packed full of relationship don’ts and philosophies for surviving the opposite sex. Where the vast majority of New Found Glory’s earlier releases could serve as reasons why they should be elected as the Patron Saints of Summer, Radiosurgery’s lyrics will not be out of place as we enter what has been predicted to be a harsh, cold winter.
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Opening with the title track, Radiosurgery, it becomes apparent that when guitarist Chad Gilbert said on the band’s website that they “wanted to go back to more of the roots of punk rock and pop punk and put a whole new NFG spin on it” he certainly meant it. Radiosurgery begins as the album means to go on, with a chorus so catchy that it will stay with the listener for days.
