New Found Glory - Sticks and Stones

So much shit gets labeled pop-punk. I'd like to know who penned that phrase and give them a swift kick in the gonads. Punk is dead; it died a long time ago, so even referencing it seems a little ignorant. It seems if anything catchy is played at a fast tempo, it's got to be referred to as pop-punk. Well, I ain't buying it. Of course, New Found Glory gets lumped into that dreaded category for good reason, but there's a bit more there. Aside from the various contemporary rock influences that make up their core, the Glory boys have an equal amount of metal and late-80's pop protruding from the surface ("Sonny" seems like a long lost cousin to the Goonies soundtrack). They haven't turned down the distortion and they haven't compromised their energy. What's more, as if said description wasn't enough to separate them from the sea of mediocrity, vocalist Jordan Pundik, who, yes, voices most of his lines in the same, trademark nasally refrains, is set on leaving the past in the past. He's not the usual perpetually adolescent frontman, constantly rehashing his horrible prom night or whining about how much he hated the jocks in high school. Instead, expect songs about meeting girls, talking to girls, relationships with girls, living with girls, how much girls suck, how weird girls act, how girls can be mean… and… well, just more songs about girls. There's not one allusion to high school on Sticks and Stones. Believe me, in this genre, it's refreshing. If there's another area that New Found Glory doesn't disappoint, it's the intensity department. The set opens with "Understatement", an upbeat rocker that would probably make the less adventurous stray away, and maintains throughout the duration. Well, I'll take that back. New Found Glory does let the intensity fall once or twice - namely "Forget My Name" and "Singled Out" - but for the most part pack Sticks and Stones full of 3-minute pop-rock gems played at a punk-rock tempo. Sure all money that MCA pushed their way polished up Sticks and Stones more so than its predecessors, but it hasn't really changed their sound. They're still pushing along the chunky, hard-hitting pop songs that they started with Nothing Gold Can Stay; they've just got a budget now. The truth of the matter is simply that New Found Glory is just great at what they do, and they're a good band. They just need to get that damn bass player to stop making stupid faces and put his shirt on. [www.newfoundglory.com]