New Found Glory exists currently for about 20 years. I know people who are younger than this band. This is so bizarre. Recently I sat with a friend and we reflected (or lamented, or celebrated) the fact we’re getting older. What makes this all the more bizarre is that New Found Glory works in the genre of youth. Even if you weren’t a teenager in the days of Punk Pop – I was, but was more of a Nu Metal kid – this still sounds like music for teenagers to get loud to. It was catchy, it was loud, it was angry and victorious at the same. For the 30-year-old man, a song like “My Friends Over You” means nothing. For a 16-year-old kid trying to convince himself that he’s not attached to a girl, this song means everything.
In a way, this album is an acknowledgement that these dudes are getting older. Whatever their previous albums sound like, “Party on Apocalypse” is the sound of an out-of-touch adult who remembers being young, yet realizes his youth has been replaced. In style it’s what you expect from a grown-up Punk-Pop band. The riffs are moved to mid-tempo and they discovered you can dance to something other than pounding drums, so you get a slightly funk rhythm. Musically it updates the genre for parties, and many bands went this way. Eventually we find our friends and want to chill with them.
The lyrics are different. Many heard about how the current generation is stupid. Just ask Socrates and how he hated writing. The lyrics are full of discorn, of venom towards the current generation. It doesn’t come from an adult perspective or reminisincing on better days. It’s just as suited for any 16-year-old today who’s confused about how to have fun.
The first verse immediately kicks off with how the ‘living for the weekend’ mentality is stupid. Coming from the band with that nasty tone, they sound like the ones who are actually having fun. All these people who pass out in parking lots and care so much about their image look ridiculous. The band doesn’t get angry over it, but confused and mocking. Later there’s even a slight at Social Justice. It’s the outsider perspective, how things look from the outside. All those people putting pictures on Facebook of them with beer bottles and all this identity politics thing, where people think their race or gender must be their whole meaning. Thankfully the chorus saves it from being just a song about being grumpy about waiting for all the trends to die. In the end it’s a party song about looking at the world from outside, thinkinkg it’s ridiculous and knowing you have more fun.
Two more other songs take this delusional approach – “Call Me Anti-Social” and “Your Jokes Aren’t Funny”. The latter is pretty obvious. Someone’s jokes lost their spark, like when you’re 22-years-old and memes about rape jokes just don’t do it for you and actually look offensive. “Call Me Anti-Social” continues from “Apocalypse” with being even more anti-social, but there’s something charming about it. Like the previous song it’s another response to a world where we’re surrounded by images of people being social (Which is not the same as actually being social). In this world, it’s far easier to feel isolated and alone. Unless you’re sticking your tongue out in Ibiza, you’re no fun. As an anthem of tiredness, it’s fantastic and exactly what I’d expect from a rock band who notices how different the rock landscape is now.
Everything else after that is just a retreat of Sticks & Stones. That’s okay, because New Found Glory have more charm than any band they influenced and overtake them. Anyone else would’ve ruined “Party On Apocalypse”, but it’s their everyman, ordinary people with loud guitars approach that makes it so charming. So when they talk about being used for sex (“The Cheapest Thrill”) or a weird unstoppable love (“Barbed Wire”) it’s cute.
It also lacks vigor. It lacks the authenticity of youth. I’m not saying they are pretending. I’m sure they really care about these songs and the only time a song is close to bad is because the melody is dull, like how uninspired “Blurred Vision” is with repeating a single phrase over and over. Yet what made their original material so powerful was how youthful it sounded, that it wasn’t a professional band knowing their genre but a bunch of dudes who had passion for romance and were really confused over being young. “Barbed Wire” is really cute and the lyrics are adorable, but I wonder what it would’ve been like if they played it 15 years ago. They do sound grown-up, which is excellent for some songs. When talking about broken hearts though, they’re just professionals going through the motions. It’s still good, but this isn’t the heart of Punk-Pop.
“Party On Apocalypse” is a fantastic and should be at the top of end-of-year lists talking about the best songs. It’s everything I want from New Found Glory now that they’re older. Someone should’ve expressed disillusionment and confusion over contemporary times and this nails it. Besides that, it’s just a rehash of old material without the same youthful energy. It’s fun, sure, but besides “Call Me Anti-Social” I can get everything here in better form in previous albums. Get these two tracks though.
I wish they would’ve used a better album title. What could be more generic?
2.5 apocalypses out of 5
Weapons 