New Found Glory

Another year, another release from pop punk mainstays New Found Glory. Not Without A Fight is NFG's sixth studio release and their first album to be released on their new label, Epitaph Records. This time around we see NFG revisiting an older style that made them such a pop punk powerhouse at the turn of the millennium. Although this may sound all well and good, make no mistake about it; this is not the triumphant return of NFG nor is it the new, fresh direction the band hinted to on their Tip of the Iceberg EP released last year.

Not Without A Fight sees the band returning with a sound that would fit in somewhere between their self-titled and Sticks and Stones releases while moving further away from the sound they had established on Catalyst and Coming Home. The problem with Not Without A Fight is, although it's inspired and sounds akin to golden-era NFG, it never quite achieves the level of quality the self-titled record accomplished. None of the material really reaches out and grabs you. Although you'll find your interests peaked at many of the catchier choruses that are sprinkled throughout, you soon notice these moments are few and far between.

The album starts off strong with the catchy, layered opener, "Right Where We Left Off" and is followed by the true gem of the album, "Don’t Let Her Pull You Down." The opening riff of "Don't Let Her Pull You Down" is classic New Found Glory—fast, upbeat and memorable. Jordan Pundik's recognizable whine is juxtaposed perfectly against the gang vocal chorus shouts led by none other than NFG guitarists, Chad Gilbert of Shai Hulud fame. Unfortunately the rest of Not Without A Fight is unable to sustain the high level of energy the openers establish and the album begins to lose steam as the songs become increasingly forgettable. The exception being "Truck Stop Blues" which is another driving, fun, sing-along filled tune that doesn't rely so much on the bands classic sound and ends up working quite well. The production on Not Without A Fight is what you've come to expect when listening to radio-friendly pop punk. Clean and clear where every instrument shines through perfectly thanks to Blink 182's Mark Hoppus who handled the production duties.

The problem with Not Without A Fight isn't so much in the approach but in the execution. The songs all have potential and never completely lose the listener. On the other hand they never achieve their full potential either. Although there are a couple of great songs scattered throughout reminding you of, pardon the pun, former glory, the rest of the album suffers from a mediocrity that won’t have you revisiting it any time soon.

—Tony Caso
03.18.09

Not Without a Fight was released in early 2009, a year in which the intersection between pop-punk and emo-pop had become impossibly crowded with young, fresh-faced bands looking to funnel their adolescence into hit records. Pitted against that age bracket, New Found Glory ran the risk of appearing far too old to play this sort of music, the bulk of which caters to teenaged audiences in the first place. Not Without a Fight is par for the pop-punk course, though, receiving its biggest boosts from producer Mark Hoppus (who, at the age of 30, was still wooing high-school students during blink-182's glory days) and the mature performance of frontman Jordan Pundik, who sounds less nasal here than on previous records. Unrequited love is still Pundik's subject of choice, and he peppers the songs with angry allusions to breakup letters, broken hearts, and unanswered phone calls. Unlike his younger pop-punk contemporaries, though, Pundik no longer seems smitten with the idea of a happy relationship; there are precious few traces of the urgent, here's-to-the-night ethos that other groups champion so heartily. There are also precious few singles here, with nothing approaching the radio-geared playability of "My Friends Over You" -- although "Listen to Your Friends," with its syncopated guitars and ever-present harmonies, does come close. Taken as a whole, Not Without a Fight is a smartly balanced album: mature in its outlook, and happily adolescent in most everything else. ~ Andrew Leahey, Rovi