Young rock from New Found Glory

Rock music is back and giving R&B very stiff competition in the US charts. And what makes it all the more exciting is that we have been getting such a wide variety of rock tunes lately. There are new hit albums from the big guns like the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Metallica and Bon Jovi who create the more classic kind. Then there are also many new and younger recruits in the charts who are also making notable contributions of their own to the popular music trends of today like Linkin Park, Creed, The Calling and New Found Glory.

New Found Glory is a five-year-old band which comes from Florida. That is of course also the place, which is now known as the land of the Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync. But although they come from the same place the guys of NFG have a totally different sound and attitude. What comes from this group is honest-to-goodness pop punk that excites young listeners but which also has the potential to mature into something that will appeal to a wider audience.

Made up of Jordan Pundik on vocals, Chad Gilbert on guitars, Ian Gushka on bass, Steve Klein on guitars and Cyrus Bolooki, New Found Glory first made a name for itself touring with then unknown alternative bands like Shai Hulud and Blink 182 and recording for the indie label Drive Thru. It was during one such tour that these guys caught the attention of MCA Records. The resulting label deal brought about the self-titled New Found Glory, a well-crafted collection of originals with the hit tune Hit or Miss. The recently released Sticks and Stones, which has also entered the hit charts is the group’s second MCA album. Both were produced by Neal Avron, the man at the helm of the albums of Everclear and the Wallflowers.

New Found Glory sticks to the basics of pop punk and echoes of its garage band beginnings are easily detectable. Though almost always loud and furious, the music is actually fairly simple and you may be suprised to find out, also laden with commercial hooks. Even more basic and straight-forward are the themes of the songs, which are about juvenile disasters like unrequited love, loss of affections and the problems of growing up. These topics can easily be described as typical boy band stuff but what makes New Found Glory different is its excess of youthful enthusiasm that brings an infectious vitality to even the simplest composition.

Songwriting is a communal effort for all of the members of the group and the new works contained in Sticks and Stones are therefore credited to New Found Glory. These are Understatement, My Friends Over You, Sonny, Something I Call Personality, Head on Collision, It’s Been a Summer, Forget My Name, Never Give Up, The Great Houdini, Singled Out, Belated and The Story So Far. My Friends Over You is the first single release. It is well-written and a true ear-pleaser. Be prepared to join in the singing and give an enthusiastic whoof for the band in some of the selections.

Hit singles in the US

The year is nearing its end and in the musicbiz that means to say it is now time to release the big star albums to take advantage of the Christmas shopping blitz. Already up in the charts are new albums by Elvis Presley, still around 25 years after his demise, ex-Genesis Peter Gabriel, Beck, india.arie, Dixie Chicks and others. Watch out for more.

The hit singles in the US of A according to Billboard’s Hot 100 are the following: A Moment Like This by Kelly Clarkson; Dilemma by Nelly featuring Kelly Rowland; Gangsta Lovin’ by Eve featuring Alicia Keys; Complicated by Avril Lavigne; Hey Ma by Cam’ron featuring Juelz Santana, Freekey Zekey & Toya; One Last Breath by Creed; Cleanin’ Out My Closet by Eminem; Work It by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott; I Need a Girl (Part Two) by P. Diddy & Ginuwine featuring Loon, Mario Winans & Tammy Ruggeri, and Move B***h by Ludacris featuring Mystikal & Infamous 2.0.

The top 10 albums of the top 200 list: Elvis:30#1 Hits by Elvis Presley; Home by the Dixie Chicks; Let Go by Avril Lavigne; Believe by Disturbed; Nellyville by Nelly; Voyage to India by india.arie; The Eminem Show by Eminem; Sea Change by Beck; Up by Peter Gabriel and The Lost Tapes by Nas.