New Found Glory – Connect The Dots (2013)
New Found Glory is another band I associate with an angst-filled emo phase during my teenage years. Their height of popularity was between 2002 and 2004 when they released their third album and major label début, Sticks and Stones, and toured with the likes of Blink 182 and Green Day. Unfortunately, unless you’re a die-hard fan, the band seemed to have slipped off the radar for the past few years although continuing to make albums. Perhaps it was the move to independent labels that contributed to them disappearing from the mainstream for a while.
On October 8th the band will release their first live album, Kill It Live, which will feature classics spanning their career as well as three brand new songs: ‘I Want To Believe’, ‘Connect The Dots’ and ‘First Bite.’
‘Connect The Dots’ is a return to New Found Glory’s classic pop-punk roots. This record is exactly how I remember them sounding back in the early noughties. Having been making music since the late 90’s the band has a solid foundation of their musical sound. Although their fifth studio album, Coming Home, steered away from tradition and is praised for being the bands most mature outing, the return to classic New Found Glory is obviously what the fans have been pining for.
The chorus is definitely the driving point of the song. The tempo hits double-time and the catchy melody will no doubt become lodged in your brain. The energy from their earlier work is definitely present here featuring a true to style bouncy riff, a classic pop-punk bridge and flawless vocals from lead singer Jordan Pundik.
‘Connect The Dots’ doesn’t try to branch out musically. It’s a strong return to their natural sound which will hopefully be embraced and showcased through further album releases, although the band say there won’t be any new albums until 2014. Hopefully, their Kill It Live album will bring them the recognition they deserve with the mainstream audience as well as their devout followers. It’s definitely a welcome break from the likes of Calvin Harris and Example taking over the charts at the moment.
