[Review] New Found Glory-Radiosurgery

New Found Glory – Radiosurgery

Epitaph Records

Release: October 4, 2011

 

The undisputed kings of pop punk have returned with another phenomenal record to add to their expansive catalogue of releases.  New Found Glory is quite possibly the most consistent band in the entire scene. For just about 15 years now they have been releasing incredibly catchy pop punk gems, often with a hardcore edge.  This is a record that reeks of nostalgia for true fans of the genre.  New Found Glory brought their A game with Radiosurgery.

 

The album gets things started with the title track of the album.  A crunchy guitar riff along with Mr. Jordan Pundik’s signature vocals drives the song.  The simple yet very relatable chorus, makes this a solid choice for the first single and an introduction to the outstanding album.  The band also recently released the music video for the song, which looks like it was a blast to create and certainly ranks as one of the best videos the band has ever done.

 

One of the true standout tracks from this album is “Drill It In My Brain”.  Cyrus Balooki sets a great beat with his skills on the kit and really sets the pace for a ridiculously fun song.  The song features one of the only true breakdowns on the record, but the band keeps it very fresh and original.  The gang vocals sound very powerful as a crowd chants, “Nothing, will come between us again.”

 

“Im Not the One” is certainly one of the most infectious songs that the band has ever written.  The upbeat rhythm of the verses perfectly transitions into the captivating bounce of the chorus.  “Summer Fling, Don’t Mean a Thing” is another one of my choice tracks found on the record.  Chad Gilbert and Steve Klein feed off each other for the poppy yet distorted guitar riff.  The slightly overweight, but always entertaining and often shirtless Ian Grushka leads the verses with his smooth control of the bass guitar.

 

The album closes with the phenomenal finisher that is “Map of Your Body”.  The song does a great job wrapping up the album and closing things off with a bang.  The song transitions from  a fast paced punk track to a bridge that sounds like something you could slow dance to, all before slamming back into the original tempo of the song.  Well over a decade later, NFG is showing the genre that they still run the show and always will until the time comes when they decide to hang it up and call it day.  Hopefully that day is still far far away because no one does pop punk quite like New Found Glory.

—Chris B.