Band Not Going Anywhere Without a Fight
As with most bands that have discographies of any significant length, New Found Glory’s sound has softened over the years. Not Without a Fight, however, feels like the band are trying to get back to their original sound. The stylistic changes they’ve incorporated over the last decade remain intact, but this album is notably harder than the band’s 2006 release, Coming Home.One thing that New Found Glory have never changed is their lyric style. This band has always been about catchy repetitive choruses and themes about mean girls who just don’t get it. “I should have listened to my friends/ I should have listened to them when they told me you had bad intentions,” they sing in the aptly titled “Listen to Your Friends.” They’re a fun punk-pop band loved for their singability rather than for attempting forced political statements.
Rather than having standout songs, Not Without a Fight has an almost soothing quality. Even on first listen, songs like “Don’t Let Her Pull You Down” and “Tangled Up” sound and feel like you’re popping in a favorite album. It’s comfortable in the best of ways, though making it that way was not without its risks. New Found Glory could easily have lapsed into greatest-hits territory on this album, providing pale imitations of beloved songs like “Better Off Dead.”
Sometimes it’s nice to hear a band embrace their strengths. With familiarity in the guitar riffs, and songs listeners could have heard a thousand times before, Not Without a Fight could be a boring ghost of a formerly vibrant alt-punk band. Instead it plays like a love letter to fans who have been around for awhile, but still manages to keep the door open for recent and future fans.
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