I’ve always been a bit split on New Found Glory. While I’ve always dug their pop punk anthems from albums like Catalyst and Sticks and Stones, I’ve never really gotten “into” them as much as I feel like I should have. I think the same goes for pop punk as a whole; while I listen to bands like Blink-182 and Sum41, I’ve always gravitated toward heavier genres. So with that said, New Found Glory‘s latest album Listen Up! leaves me with little to be desired, but I don’t necessarily think that’s the band’s fault.
Listen Up!, I’ve learned, comes after guitarist Chad Gilbert’s very long and continued battle with cancer and is positioned as more of an introspective and purposeful album that’s more of a celebration of survival and strength than an album that touches on the woes of heartbreak or fallouts. And this might be while it feels a bit off. The album as a collective work doesn’t inherently feel like a New Found Glory album, nor does it overly sound like a New Found Glory Album.
In a similar vein to Blink-182‘s Tom DeLonge, Jordan Pundik’s vocals are now much deeper and less whiny than in early albums, which is jarring for someone only familiar with the band’s early works. I’m aware this criticism might be slightly unwarranted, especially as the timbre of someone’s voice can’t be helped, especially as someone’s voice in their mid-twenties is going to be different when they’re in their early forties, but still, I feel it’s relevant to this critique when instrumentally the band sound/feel different, too.
Listen Up! features a mix of songs that seems to constantly clash with one another, while songs like Boom Roasted that poke fun at the industry that has profited off the band over the years, followed by 100% which continue to echo that fun pop punk attitude, but then things shift later in the album as things get a little darker and heavier, but lyrically remain a little surface level, a theme that’s echoed throughout the album.
Instrumentally, the album manages to hit the nail on the head of snappy pop punk with the guitar work and tight drums bringing that familiar anthemic sound from earlier works. Lyrically, on the other hand, it kinda falls flat and feels a little disappointing, especially as it touches on more emotionally-driven themes like nostalgia and illness. Though maybe that’s the point? I dunno, they just feel a bit forced and almost cheesy.
Take the chorus for 100%, one of the lead singles from the album: “Whether I’m at the top or whether I’m broken down, My word is cement, I’m gonna give you 100%”. It just feels a bit basic to me.
New Found Glory have always managed to put out some fantastic instrumental and despite all of Chad’s health struggles, this album is no different. I’m also a huge fan of the occasional lean into easycore with heavier breakdowns and riffs found in some of the tracks.
Overall, Listen Up! is one I’m not sure I’d ever return to. There doesn’t seem to be anything overly memorable about the album, and the songs that do stand out aren’t even a blot on their older catalog. Holding singles like 100% up against My Friends Over You or All Down Hill From Here is laughable in my opinion.
While there are some aspects of this album that are decent, I personally wouldn’t see myself choosing to listen to this over their previous works.
Score 3.5/10
Listen Up! by New Found Glory dropped on February 20 through Pure Noise Records.