New Found Glory is clearly betting the answer from its fans is “more of the same,” because that is what the pop-punk band’s fifth studio album, Coming Home, delivers.
Nearing a decade in age, New Found Glory is no longer an up-and-coming band, but rather an established act. Since the release of Nothing Gold Can Stay, the band has been considered one of the leaders of the emo scene, and perhaps the best act on the pop side of that genre.
Lately, however, the “screamo” side of the emo genre has been more popular, and Coming Home reflects this in some ways. Vocalist Jordan Pundik’s voice is no longer as high-pitched as it once was and on a few tracks – particularly “On My Mind” – there’s an edge to it. But the band never deviates too much from the formula that has gotten them to where they are today – catchy choruses, simple song structures and generic pop-punk instrumentation behind Pundik’s excellent vocals.
The album’s opener “Oxygen” is definitely a potential radio single. Along with many of the other songs, it has a chorus that is just what you expect from NFG: “I don’t want to be without you/I don’t want to live without you/I don’t want to breathe without you/you’re my oxygen.”
The third song is the first single off the album – “It’s Not Your Fault.” With a nice piano intro and another catchy chorus, NFG made a good decision when they selected it as the single.
The title track is fifth and is the best example of a overarching theme throughout the album. On songs such as “Connected,” “Taken Back by You” and “Coming Home,” it’s obvious that main songwriter/guitarist Chad Gilbert was homesick. What’s interesting about that is the band didn’t do any writing for this album on the road, but instead rented a house in Malibu and crafted the album there. That being said, these three songs have some of the best lyrics and arrangements on the CD.
On “Too Good to Be,” Pundik sings another stereotypical emo lyric: “You have my heart in your hands/so don’t let it go.” The rhythmic clapping in the background of this song seems out of place, but somehow works.
The aforementioned “Familiar Landscapes” is the best song on Coming Home. Here, NFG seems to be screaming out for direction and wondering if all of the work of touring is really worth it: “Your world has been built to crumble/you hope and pray every day it works out/and it leaves me with this empty feeling.”
“When I Die,” which was written about the death of Gilbert’s father, is understandably the most emotionally charged track on the album. It’ll remind longtime fans of the song “Sonny” from the band’s earlier album Sticks and Stones, which was written about the death of Gilbert’s grandfather.
The last track on the album, “Boulders,” is another standout track. A standard slow-down ender for pop-punk albums, it has one of the catchier choruses and features backing vocals from Sherri and Stacy DuPree of the band Eisley. This isn’t surprising, considering Gilbert is engaged to Sherri.
In the end, Coming Home is the same ol’ stuff from NFG. They’ve been making catchy, if not uninspired, pop-punk music for almost a decade and have their formula down pat. If fans are expecting innovation from the quartet, they are not going to find it with Coming Home.
This album offers no sure-fire hits – it lacks what songs such as “Hit or Miss,” “My Friends Over You” or “All Downhill From Here” had. Coming Home is almost a misnomer because in reality, New Found Glory never left its trademark sound.
Contact reporter Kevin Robillard at diversions@dbk.umd.edu.
