Wednesday, October 5, 2011

New Found Glory - Radiosurgery

It was under ten years ago that my oldest brother took me under his wing and took me to my first gig. He was a freshman in college here in Lincoln at the University and I was just 12 years-old, a bright eyed sixth grader. He came back for a weekend to pick me up in his 2001 Ford Focus that we called the "bumblebee" for its goldish-yellow color. The destination was Pershing Auditorium and the mission was to see New Found Glory. It was at this show that I believe my life changed. The pure energy and excitement that came erupting out off that band and the crowd got to me, and perhaps changed the way I look at life.

Return to present-day Lincoln, where I have now lived for three years. In the time since my first encounter with New Found Glory, I have seen them live five times. Which is a lot considering that sports in high school limited my engagement to shows. They have just released their seventh album and are on my schedule to see on their upcoming tour. So you can understand why I have a critical eye on this band. With their new album comes excitement, optimism, and a review.

New Found Glory - Radiosurgery


The album starts off with the first single/title track. This is the prime example of what the new album encompasses as a whole sound. Following the conventional formula of song structure, the track radiates a "Dookie"-vibe. At first listen, it didn't hit me, but after listening to it a few times you can see where the song could have fit on any early Green Day album. Still very fun and catchy, NFG put their stamp on every song they make, and give us a late-summer anthem.

The next few songs are my favorites on the album. "Anthem Of The Unwanted" and "Drill It In My Brain" are both vintage New Found Glory with an upbeat, charisma to the music and toned-down catchy chorus. "I'm Not The One" brings back the gang vocals with a hardcore breakdown and different movements with composition. "Dumped" is a very musical locomotive, vintage NFG song with a catchy upbeat chorus and a noteworthy ending.

It's at that point where the album takes a slight downturn. "Summer Fling, Don't Mean A Thing" is a somewhat forgettable, cookie-cutter song, that sounds like it could be a b-side off of Coming Home. "Caught In The Act" and "Trainwreck" share the same fate. It's not a complete knock on slower songs, or less musically driven songs, but in some cases the efforts just seem lazy. Such is the case here. The songs don't capture attention the first time and make it very easy to skip ahead to the next songs on the album that are a lot less forgetful.

The few bright points on the back half of the album, "Memories And Battle Scars" and "Map Of Your Body" don't do enough to resurrect the album from the doldrums. Coming out with strong riffs, very catchy choruses, and notably well executed breakdowns, the songs hold your attention and almost force you to sing along. In the case of the album closer, "Map Of Your Body", the breakdown takes the form of a sort of lullaby. As soon as the breakdown ends, the song shoots off like a rocket back to the catchy chorus for the ending.

Overall, the album features a few good songs, a few decent ones, and a few forgettable ones. I recognize that at some points I may sound like I want them to recreate their self-titled album or Sticks And Stones, but I know that what goes into making an album can't be reproduced and getting repeated success on albums is extremely difficult. NFG came back from a lackluster showing with Not Without A Fight, an album I very much enjoyed. Time will tell if I enjoy Radiosurgery as much as I did with NWAF that came before it, but it's not looking good. For fans of old-school Green Day who haven't gotten into New Found Glory (if those people exist) should give this album a listen. If you're a hardcore New Found Glory fan, you should listen to this album because it's the exact things you've come to like in them. But in the long run, the album hits the target a few times not enough and lets the lacking parts last too long.

Recommended Tracks: "Anthem Of The Unwanted", "I'm Not The One", "Dumped"

Recommended If You Like: New Found Glory, Dookie

Verdict: 5.5/10

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