New Found Glory

New Found Glory
Studio album by New Found Glory
Released	September 26, 2000 (see release history)
Recorded	June 2000 at Elysian Fields Studios, Boca Raton, Florida
Genre	Pop punk
Length	36:20
Label	Drive-Thru, MCA
Producer	Neal Avron
New Found Glory chronology
Nothing Gold Can Stay (1999) New Found Glory (2000) Sticks and Stones (2002)
Alternative cover
10th anniversary re-issue
Singles from New Found Glory
"Hit or Miss" Released: June 17, 2000 "Dressed to Kill" Released: November 21, 2000

New Found Glory is the eponymously-titled second studio album by the American rock band of the same name. It was produced and mixed by Neal Avron and released on September 26, 2000 through Drive-Thru Records. Featuring their breakthrough single "Hit or Miss", the album was later certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) with sales in excess of 500,000 units.^[1]

During the band's American tour in late 2009, they announced a special edition re-release of the album to celebrate its tenth anniversary. The deluxe package included new liner notes, seven b-sides and a DVD. A commemorative tour also took place with the album played live in its entirety.^[2]

Background and recording

Following the underground success of debut album Nothing Gold Can Stay (1999), Drive-Thru Records founder, Richard Reines had paid Eulogy Recordings $5,000 to licence the album and sign the band.^[3] Drive-Thru had initially wanted to re-release Nothing Gold Can Stay along with a newly recorded version of breakthrough single "Hit ot Miss".^[4] Chad Gilbert said of the process, "So we went into the studio with Jerry Finn and recorded it with him. I don't like how it came out, at all. He was such a cool guy, but we were like, "nah, we don't want to use it". From then on, every band that worked with him expressed that Jerry Finn didn't like our band".^[4] The song was never used and the band decided to start work on a second album. The recording was later included as a bonus track on the tenth anniversary edition of the album in 2010.

Having met with producer Neal Avron, the two parties discussed the desired sound the band were striving for on the record. Avron said, "During pre-production, we'd get in their van for lunch and they had a poster of Britney Spears up. They wanted the music to be heavy, but the vocals to be super-pop, that was the goal".^[4] Steve Klein, the band's rhythm guitarist and lyricist, said of the writing: "A lot of those songs pertained to my early relationships, my first love, my first sex, that entire time period. I was seventeen years old. Every record that we had is a timetable to my life. My wife can now look back and listen to my diaries as a teenager."^[4]

Tenth anniversary edition and tour

During late 2009, the band announced they were planning a commemorative tour in early 2010 to celebrate the albums tenth anniversary.^[5][6] A special edition re-release of the album was confirmed which featured seven bonus tracks and a DVD.^[7] Soon after in December 2009, AbsolutePunk officially announced the special anniversary edition of the album would be released on January 26, 2010 through Geffen Records.^[8]

The additional material includes new liner notes, demos, b-sides, The Story So Far DVD and a remix of debut single "Hit or Miss" by the late Jerry Finn.^[8] A full tour commencing on January 29 was also confirmed, titled The 10 Year Anniversary of the Self-Titled Record Tour, where the band would play the record in its entirety, with support from Saves the Day, Hellogoodbye and Fireworks.^[8]

During the tour, the band played through the records twelve songs from start to finish, followed by an extended encore, with up to eight additional songs.^[9]

Reception and Legacy

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[10]
College Music Journal	(favourable)[11]
Kerrang!	[12]
NME	(8/10)[13]

Upon the albums release in 2000, it was well received by critics. Allmusic writer Richie Unterberger gave the album 3½ stars out of five in his review. Despite stating the album wasn't "entirely original," he described the sound as containing "choppy uptempo rhythms, spiky buzzing guitars, and youthful harmonies". He also added that "there were less likable young punk bands that could have been honored with a record deal in 2000".^[10]

Michael Dabaie of College Music Journal was also favourable in his review. Comparing the band to Green Day, Face to Face and Blink-182, he stated, "New Found Glory hits on a winning formula on its self-titled record: Without treading too far from the aggro path blazed years ago by bands like Dag Nasty, the quintet delivers catchy pop-punk riffs, smooth vocal harmonies and songs that are angst-ridden without being nihilistic. These guys exude sincerity, and lyrics like "The needle on my record player is wearing thin/This record has been playing since the day you've been with him" will ring true with everyone who ever wore out their Descendents records during a bad breakup."^[11]

British rock magazine, Kerrang! awarded the album a maximum five K! score. Describing the release as the band's "essential purchase," they also wrote, "Marking one of the biggest and quickest improvements in alternative music, the band's major label debut hurled them to the forefront of the punk scene barely 12 months after its patchy predecessor. Packed with infectious melodies and sing-along anthems, it would see them jostling with the likes of Blink-182 for the genre's crown."^[12] NME magazine awarded the album 8/10 and opined the band had, "spot-on vocal harmonies that add just the right amount of pop tinge to their relentlessly hard-charging tunes."^[13]

In recent years, the album has often been cited a "classic" and praised for its long lasting influence on the pop-punk genre. In a different Kerrang! article in 2010 covering the tenth anniversary re-issue, George Garner wrote "without them, pop-punk would be missing some of its most anthemic moments, and All Time Low wouldn't have their name."^[14] PopMatters also wrote an article on the album and it's anniversary tour. Melissa Bobbitt stated, "What a blessing it is to still have NFG around, on this, the 10th anniversary of their self-titled record. This tour served as a collection of whimsical snapshots in their prolific career. It may not be apparent to anyone outside of Alternative Press readers, but New Found Glory’s influence is vastly felt today. A testament to that was supporting act Fireworks. Their whiplash sound and choreographed jumping all came from the pages of the NFG guidebook to punk-pop."^[15]

Jason Tate, the CEO of AbsolutePunk, wrote of the album, "Back when New Found Glory's Self-Titled album was released there weren't many that gave it a chance to be one of the building-blocks for an entire genre. However, in hindsight, it appears as though that disc may have had more of an impact than anyone ever could have guessed."^[16] Rock Sound have also opined that some of the stronger pop-punk releases in recent years have "only been bettered by their US peers New Found Glory's 2000 self-titled effort."^[17] Mark Hoppus, who later produced the band's sixth studio album, said of New Found Glory: "It was one of those records that never found its way out of my CD player. New Found Glory just had something different and unique. I was really drawn to their melodies, and their guitar parts were more interesting and more creative than a lot of the stuff that was going on."^[4] It was also explained that when Jared Logan was producing Fall Out Boy's debut album, he asked bassist Pete Wentz about the sound the band had desired for recording. Wentz responded by "handing over the first two New Found Glory records".^[4]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Steve Klein; music composed by New Found Glory.^[18]

1. "Better Off Dead" — 2:48
2. "Dressed to Kill" — 3:28
3. "Sincerely Me" — 2:49
4. "Hit or Miss" — 3:23
5. "Second to Last" — 2:44
6. "Eyesore" — 3:46
7. "Vegas" — 2:30
8. "Sucker" — 2:54
9. "Black and Blue" — 2:10
10. "Boy Crazy" — 3:19
11. "All About Her" — 3:03
12. "Ballad for the Lost Romantics" — 3:26

Bonus tracks

Tenth anniversary bonus tracks

13. "So Many Ways" — 2:59
14. "The Minute I Met You" — 3:05
15. "Ex-Miss" — 3:37
16. "The Radio Song" (demo) — 2:14
17. "Better Off Dead" (demo) — 2:10
18. "All About Her" (demo) — 2:49
19. "Hit or Miss" (Jerry Finn remix) — 3:15

DVD

1. "The Story So Far" (Documentary)
2. "Head On Collision" (Promo Video directed by The Malloys)
3. "My Friends Over You" (Promo Video directed by The Malloys)
4. "Dressed To Kill" (Promo Video directed by Richard Reines)
5. "Hit or Miss" (Promo Video directed by Smith n' Borin)
6. "Hit or Miss" (Promo Video directed by Richard Reines)
7. "Video Fanzine" (Bonus Feature)

Personnel

The following personnel contributed to New Found Glory:^[18]

Release history

Chart performance

References