Not Without a Fight
Encyclopedia
Not Without a Fight is the sixth studio album
by American rock
band New Found Glory
. It was released on March 10, 2009 through independent label Epitaph Records
. Produced by Blink-182
singer-bassist Mark Hoppus
and recorded at his home based-OPRA Studios, the album was seen as a return to the bands energetic roots in comparison to its predecessor; the mellow Coming Home
(2006). The gap between releases marked the longest period between studio albums in the band's career thus far, while the title is taken from the lyrics in opening track, "Right Where We Left Off".
In the United States
, opening week sales reached 26,900 units allowing it to debut at number one on the Billboard Independent Albums Chart and number twelve on the Billboard 200
. This marked their fourth consecutive album to debut in the top twenty on the Billboard chart, despite leaking
six weeks prior to its official release. The album was released early in Australia
to coincide with the band's appearance at the Soundwave Festival and it debuted at number thirty six on the ARIA Charts
.
(2006), the band parted ways with major label Geffen Records
in early 2007. Steve Klein
, the bands chief lyricist
and rhythm guitarist explained that due to the label undergoing several management changes, the band were left feeling isolated; "At the time of Coming Home being released, this guy who was the president was all about Pussycat Dolls
and all that pop
and R&B
. It came out at a time when they weren't really caring about their rock bands. And you know, we had a choice to be on that label again for the next one and we just decided that we didn't want to be part of a label that didn't want to put out rock music
." The band subsequently recorded their second cover album, From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II
(2007) without a record contract, before agreeing a distribution deal with former label Drive-Thru Records
. After writing and recording several demos
in the interim period, lead guitarist and composer Chad Gilbert
contacted Mark Hoppus
early in 2008 to discuss a possible project. When they met, Gilbert showed Hoppus the series of rough demos from his iPod
and it was then agreed to record an album in Hoppus' home studio, despite the band not being signed to a label at the time.
guitarist Brett Gurewitz
, already a keen admirer of the band, signed them to his long running independent label Epitaph Records
in late 2008, with a view to release the album in early 2009. Speaking of the recording sessions, Steve Klein praised the "lighthearted" atmosphere amongst Hoppus and the band; "He didn't take himself too seriously and we don't take ourselves too seriously, either. Every day, you'd wake up and go, "Man, I can't wait to get to the studio."
Frontman Jordan Pundik
also praised Hoppus. He commented in Alternative Press magazine, "He had a lot of really cool ideas as far as bass lines and bass tones and things like that, and he also came up with some really cool harmonies for vocals. But he wasn’t really there to tell us what to do. It was more like a collaborative. It was nice to have him there because he’s not just a producer. He was in a band that kind of set the tone for bands like New Found Glory and a lot of the newer bands." Gilbert meanwhile, spoke of the bands desire to concentrate solely on their music; "Lately in music, especially in our scene, I feel like there has been a lot of emphasis on the look, and I feel now there is a lot less emphasis on the song and a lot more on the album packaging or the color of the shirts the band is wearing and the style of their hair. I just hope people get this record and say 'Wow, this is a straightforward album with pure emotion and pure adrenaline' and it's a record with five guys, who look like guys".
, while critics often noted a growing maturity. Bill Lamb of About.com
wrote that the album contains, "choppy guitars and emotional choruses", and predicted that, "fans of their older work will be pleased." Mike Demante of the Houston Chronicle
reported that, "Not Without a Fight is full of those catchy choruses and gang vocals that fans have come to love. The album is a return to form, whilst still incorporating the indie-rock of its Geffen records’ swan song, Coming Home, and last year’s melodic hardcore
EP Tip of the Iceberg." Brendan Manley of Alternative Press said that, "opening track, “Right Where We Left Off,” builds upon a chunky guitar riff that recalls classic NFG, yet surprises with smart, subtle rhythmic twists. NFG’s true maturity though, shines in the album’s skillful composition that offers up instant classics like “Heartless At Best”." The A.V Club critic Aaron Burgess was in agreeance; "Maturity remains a guiding principle on Not Without A Fight—the band strikes a keen balance between hard-hitting, soft-hearted, youthfully exuberant, and all grown up." Kelly Knickerbocker of the Dallas Observer
also noted, "Heartbreak bodes well for creative processes, it seems. Not Without A Fight is full of performances by pissed-off dudes who are taking it back to their roots: raw punk-pop, with crafty and sometimes cynical lyrics."
The metaphor for the album title was described by Gilbert as "our personal war and the wars that you have in relationships with your loved ones. When you want something bad enough in life you have to fight for it. That’s like with our band. We love being in this band, and we’ll do whatever it takes to continue." Drummer Cyrus Bolooki further explained, "I think it just kind of goes in with the whole idea that we've been around for a while, and we really feel like a resurgence for us that after eleven years now we're still relevant. We're on tours with bands like Four Year Strong
, A Day To Remember
and you know, a lot of these bands maybe first got into bands like us, so it's almost like another generation." Musically, Gilbert explained that unlike the harmony-driven Coming Home, the band wanted to return to a more energetic style both because of the embittered lyrics and the need to translate songs live. "We love [the songs off] Coming Home, but live we couldn't really rock out to them. And that's what we love. So I think naturally I was wanting rhythms that I knew I'd have fun playing live." He supported this by explaining the bands desire to alternate between albums; "Every album New Found Glory’s released is different in its own way, and we’ll continue to work that way. When we write albums, whatever comes out, comes out. We’re always real, and I think that’s why we still have the fans we do." Much of the lyrical themes also come in contrast to Coming Home, largely due to divorces that Pundik and Gilbert went through since writing the previous album, as well as their departure from Geffen Records
. Most topics deal with reflection and bitterness towards the former relationships. Gilbert found the best way to express these emotions was to revisit the fast-paced style of the band’s earlier days. "The truth of the matter is that when we did Coming Home we were all in love. I was engaged, Jordan was engaged, But since that time my relationship failed, Jordan's relationship failed and going into this record we had a lot of angst. We didn't aim to make a faster, more energetic record. That's just what really came out because of our natural emotion."
on digipack and digital download
formats, as well as vinyl
on Bridge Nine Records on March 13, 2009. Over a month before its official release, the album leaked
online. In response to this, guitarist Chad Gilbert stated although he was disappointed, he was happy for his band's music to be heard by any means: "As far as the leaking thing. If my favorite bands CD came out early online I would download it too. I will still buy it though because when I love a band I've got to have the album packaging and artwork. The whole building up to release date loses a bit of its excitement but to be honest, the fans that would go out of their way to download it are the true fans that go out of their way to buy merch and are the ones that will know the words first and sing every song at the show."
The first single from the album was "Listen to Your Friends", and was released on December 23, 2008. The music video, which was shot on November 5, 2008 in LA
, premiered on March 9, 2009. The quintet set out on tour to support the album release in March along with Set Your Goals
, Bayside
and Shai Hulud
. During the summer, the band made appearances for major festivals at the Rock AM Ring in Germany
and Reading and Leeds
in England
. Soon afterwards, Cyrus Bolooki confirmed they had finished shooting the video for second single "Don't Let Her Pull You Down". The video premiered on October 15, and was released on October 20 via limited orange and sky blue vinyl
prints. Touring continued well into 2010, with the band headlining the Slam Dunk Festival along with Alkaline Trio
and Capdown
. Later in June, it was announced the band were shooting the video for "Truck Stop Blues", acting as promotion for the bands appearance on the 2010 Honda Civic Tour. The video was later released via the bands Twitter
and Facebook
pages on 21 July.
gave a favorable four star review, describing the overall sound as one "that bounces between chunky punk riffs and addictive pop hooks" while also stating, "it’s a straight-up representation of who New Found Glory has become, marking a return to classic pop punk". Joe DeAndrea, staff reviewer for AbsolutePunk, awarded a score of 86%. He said of the band that, "on Not Without a Fight, it's clear that New Found Glory still haven't lost their knack of creating an album with sing-a-long choruses and memorable guitar riffs that fans will love." He described the songs as "energy filled" and noted the album was "another breath of fresh air within a genre saturated with vocoder and neon. Andrew Leahey, in his review for Allmusic, awarded the album 3½ stars out of five. He praised the "mature performance" of frontman Jordan Pundik; "Unlike his younger pop-punk contemporaries, though, Pundik no longer seems smitten with the idea of a happy relationship. There are precious few traces of the urgent, here's-to-the-night ethos that other groups champion so heartily. Taken as a whole, Not Without a Fight is a pleasant listen, mature in its outlook, and happily adolescent in its vigor".
Alternative Press journalist Brendan Manley also awarded a score of 3½ stars out of five and claimed, "throughout Fight, it's the guitars, fueled by drummer Cyrus Bolooki's frenetic tempos, that exude the greatest return to form. From “47,” with its near-speed-metal breakdown to the raucous “I’ll Never Love Again” to the fluid, Tom DeLonge
-esque guitar lines in “Truck Stop Blues,” it becomes abundantly clear that guitarists Chad Gilbert and Steve Klein have rediscovered their mojo and have come to rock." Despite stating that the album lacked consistency in the latter half, he summarised that, "the record is a reminder of why we fell in love with NFG in the first place and for many of us, that's enough." Billboard magazine were also favourable, stating, "With Blink-182/+44 bassist Mark Hoppus producing, Fight does pack a wallop, enveloping frontman Jordan Pundik's angsty relationship paeans on a dozen compact, dynamic and hooky tracks in a mere 35 minutes". Alex Hofford of North Carolina State University
-based newspaper, the Technician
, awarded the album 4½ stars out of five in his review. He called the album a "paradigm of the pop-punk craze from earlier in the decade", while noting, "New Found Glory has successfully combined the sounds from their previous ventures into one sonically cohesive album. Even when the band wants to slow down the pace with more melodic songs like "Reasons" and "Heartless At Best," they don't ruin the flow of the album. This is one "fight" you shouldn't miss." Q magazine writer Dave Everley awarded the album a "good" three out of five stars, opining that, "New Found Glory's newfound maturity makes for a palatable record that will soothe lovelorn rockers. It may not be their defining release, but its a reminder as to why the fivesome have garnered such a devout following."
Rock Sound
magazine were highly impressed and gave a score of nine out of ten, lauding the album as the band's best work to date. Andrew Kelham opined that, "each song is a thick cut of pop punk played to perfection by a group of musicians who have taken a genre by the throat and defined it with their sound". The A.V Club critic Aaron Burgess awarded the album a "B" grade and remarked; "the loud-guitar and crunching-rhythm style that drives the album, demonstrates that, softening middle years be damned, New Found Glory still hits hard enough to matter". Adam Webb, staff writer for Ultimate-Guitar was also largely favourable in his review, awarding a score of 8.3/10. He commented that the band had, "created a rockin' pop punk album that shows just why they stand so tall above the crowd of uneventful scenesters that is the tragedy of the music scene today". Hailing the band as the "undisputed kings of pop punk", he finalised his review by addding, "You'd be clinically insane not to give this album a go. Either that or you're blind, deaf and dumb. In which case you have a valid reason and a much bigger problem at hand". However, other reviews were less receptive. Tom Bryant of British magazine Kerrang!
was critical of the albums sound; "Their major label record deal came to a conclusion and they scurried back to the sort of independent punk label on which they first made their name. Next, they ask blink-182's Mark Hoppus to produce, a man who, intermittenty, is in the band to who NFG once aspired to be. It all begs the question as to whether this is a sound of a brand trying to recapture the past; a band having a midlife crisis." In his review for Rocklouder!, critic John Webber noted that "By no means is this a bad record; in fact it easily lays waste to most releases in the same vain this side of Coming Home, but when held up against such a stunning back catalogue, it is certainly not an essential purchase for any new fans." PopMatters
echoed this sentiment by writing, "It doesn’t mean they’ve made a bad album here, just a predictable one. Attempting a traditionalist record in any genre is a game of constraints, and those constraints are fully felt on Not Without a Fight."
.
New Found Glory
Production
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band New Found Glory
New Found Glory
New Found Glory is an American rock band from Coral Springs, Florida. Formed in the summer of 1997, founding members were lead vocalist Jordan Pundik, guitarists Chad Gilbert and Steve Klein, bassist Ian Grushka and drummer Joe Marino...
. It was released on March 10, 2009 through independent label Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records is a Hollywood, California based independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. The label was originally "just a logo and a P.O. box" created in the 1980s for the purpose of selling Bad Religion records, but has evolved into a large independent record...
. Produced by Blink-182
Blink-182
Blink-182 is an American rock band consisting of vocalist and bass guitarist Mark Hoppus, vocalist and guitarist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. They have sold over 27 million albums worldwide since forming in Poway, California in 1992...
singer-bassist Mark Hoppus
Mark Hoppus
Mark Allan Hoppus is an American musician, record producer, and television host. He is the bass guitarist and one of the two lead vocalists of the pop punk band Blink-182, as well as the bass guitarist and lead vocalist of the alternative rock band +44. He is a co-founder of both bands...
and recorded at his home based-OPRA Studios, the album was seen as a return to the bands energetic roots in comparison to its predecessor; the mellow Coming Home
Coming Home (New Found Glory album)
Coming Home is the fifth studio album by American rock band New Found Glory. It was produced by Thom Panunzio and released on September 19, 2006 through Geffen Records. Written and demoed at the Morning View Mansion in Malibu during 2005, Coming Home is a concept album unified by a lyrical theme of...
(2006). The gap between releases marked the longest period between studio albums in the band's career thus far, while the title is taken from the lyrics in opening track, "Right Where We Left Off".
In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, opening week sales reached 26,900 units allowing it to debut at number one on the Billboard Independent Albums Chart and number twelve on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. This marked their fourth consecutive album to debut in the top twenty on the Billboard chart, despite leaking
Internet leak
An Internet leak occurs when a party's confidential information is released to the public on the Internet. Various types of information and data can be, and have been, "leaked" to the Internet, the most common being personal information, computer software and source code, and artistic works such...
six weeks prior to its official release. The album was released early in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
to coincide with the band's appearance at the Soundwave Festival and it debuted at number thirty six on the ARIA Charts
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
.
Background
Following the release, promotion and touring of Coming HomeComing Home (New Found Glory album)
Coming Home is the fifth studio album by American rock band New Found Glory. It was produced by Thom Panunzio and released on September 19, 2006 through Geffen Records. Written and demoed at the Morning View Mansion in Malibu during 2005, Coming Home is a concept album unified by a lyrical theme of...
(2006), the band parted ways with major label Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
in early 2007. Steve Klein
Steve Klein (musician)
Stephen Lee "Steve" Klein is an American musician. Klein is a founding member of rock band New Found Glory, for whom he is the primary lyricist and plays rhythm guitar....
, the bands chief lyricist
Lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
and rhythm guitarist explained that due to the label undergoing several management changes, the band were left feeling isolated; "At the time of Coming Home being released, this guy who was the president was all about Pussycat Dolls
Pussycat Dolls
The Pussycat Dolls are an American pop girl group and dance ensemble based in Los Angeles; currently consisting of Lauren Bennett, Vanessa Curry, Kristal "Lyndriette" Smith, Tiffany "Taz" Zavala, Kia Hampton and Paula Van Oppen. The Pussycat Dolls were founded by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995...
and all that pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
. It came out at a time when they weren't really caring about their rock bands. And you know, we had a choice to be on that label again for the next one and we just decided that we didn't want to be part of a label that didn't want to put out rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
." The band subsequently recorded their second cover album, From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II
From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II
-Release history:-Credits:Band* Jordan Pundik – Vocals* Chad Gilbert – Guitar* Steve Klein – Guitar* Ian Grushka – Bass* Cyrus Bolooki – Drums / PercussionAdditional Musicians* Michael Bethancourt – KeyboardsGuest Appearances...
(2007) without a record contract, before agreeing a distribution deal with former label Drive-Thru Records
Drive-Thru Records
Drive-Thru Records, established in 1996, was a California-based record label owned by siblings Richard and Stefanie Reines. It has produced various pop punk bands, many with a distinct SoCal sound....
. After writing and recording several demos
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
in the interim period, lead guitarist and composer Chad Gilbert
Chad Gilbert
Chad Everett Gilbert is an American musician and record producer. He is a founding member of the rock band New Found Glory, for whom he plays lead guitar, composes music and provides backing vocals...
contacted Mark Hoppus
Mark Hoppus
Mark Allan Hoppus is an American musician, record producer, and television host. He is the bass guitarist and one of the two lead vocalists of the pop punk band Blink-182, as well as the bass guitarist and lead vocalist of the alternative rock band +44. He is a co-founder of both bands...
early in 2008 to discuss a possible project. When they met, Gilbert showed Hoppus the series of rough demos from his iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
and it was then agreed to record an album in Hoppus' home studio, despite the band not being signed to a label at the time.
Recording and production
The band entered the studio in the latter part of May 2008, and completed recording in July. Hoppus later stated that he was willing to take part in the project as he would be working with a band with a "definite sound" in mind, but who "also wanted input and guidance from someone they trusted." The producer also commented afterward that, "We worked really hard to get great, gritty guitars, big drums, edgy bass, and Jordan is singing stronger than he ever has. The songs really came together, and I can't wait for people to hear this record." Upon completion of the album, the band were in a position to present songs to various record labels. Bad ReligionBad Religion
Bad Religion is a punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1979. Their current line-up consists of Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz , Jay Bentley , Greg Hetson , Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman . Gurewitz is also the founder of the label Epitaph Records, which has released almost all of the...
guitarist Brett Gurewitz
Brett Gurewitz
Brett W. Gurewitz , nicknamed Mr. Brett, is the guitarist and a songwriter of Bad Religion. He is also the owner of the music label Epitaph Records and sister-labels ANTI-, Burning Heart Records, Fat Possum Records, and Hellcat Records...
, already a keen admirer of the band, signed them to his long running independent label Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records is a Hollywood, California based independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. The label was originally "just a logo and a P.O. box" created in the 1980s for the purpose of selling Bad Religion records, but has evolved into a large independent record...
in late 2008, with a view to release the album in early 2009. Speaking of the recording sessions, Steve Klein praised the "lighthearted" atmosphere amongst Hoppus and the band; "He didn't take himself too seriously and we don't take ourselves too seriously, either. Every day, you'd wake up and go, "Man, I can't wait to get to the studio."
Frontman Jordan Pundik
Jordan Pundik
Jordan Izaak Pundik is an American musician and songwriter.Pundik is a founding member and the frontman of rock band New Found Glory, for whom he sings lead vocals and contributes lyrics...
also praised Hoppus. He commented in Alternative Press magazine, "He had a lot of really cool ideas as far as bass lines and bass tones and things like that, and he also came up with some really cool harmonies for vocals. But he wasn’t really there to tell us what to do. It was more like a collaborative. It was nice to have him there because he’s not just a producer. He was in a band that kind of set the tone for bands like New Found Glory and a lot of the newer bands." Gilbert meanwhile, spoke of the bands desire to concentrate solely on their music; "Lately in music, especially in our scene, I feel like there has been a lot of emphasis on the look, and I feel now there is a lot less emphasis on the song and a lot more on the album packaging or the color of the shirts the band is wearing and the style of their hair. I just hope people get this record and say 'Wow, this is a straightforward album with pure emotion and pure adrenaline' and it's a record with five guys, who look like guys".
Composition
The album's overall sound was seen as a "return to form", going back to the band's faster and energetic roots. This was mainly because previous album, Coming Home, was viewed as a more mellow, mid-tempo and sentimental record. Fans made comparisons with the band's eponymous second albumNew Found Glory (album)
New Found Glory is the eponymously-titled second studio album by the American rock band of the same name. It was produced and mixed by Neal Avron and released on September 26, 2000 through Drive-Thru Records...
, while critics often noted a growing maturity. Bill Lamb of About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
wrote that the album contains, "choppy guitars and emotional choruses", and predicted that, "fans of their older work will be pleased." Mike Demante of the Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
reported that, "Not Without a Fight is full of those catchy choruses and gang vocals that fans have come to love. The album is a return to form, whilst still incorporating the indie-rock of its Geffen records’ swan song, Coming Home, and last year’s melodic hardcore
Melodic hardcore
Melodic hardcore is a subgenre of hardcore punk with a strong emphasis on vocal melody. The genre is commonly defined with fast hardcore drum beats, complex guitar riffs and melodic singing with occasional screaming and shouting.-History:...
EP Tip of the Iceberg." Brendan Manley of Alternative Press said that, "opening track, “Right Where We Left Off,” builds upon a chunky guitar riff that recalls classic NFG, yet surprises with smart, subtle rhythmic twists. NFG’s true maturity though, shines in the album’s skillful composition that offers up instant classics like “Heartless At Best”." The A.V Club critic Aaron Burgess was in agreeance; "Maturity remains a guiding principle on Not Without A Fight—the band strikes a keen balance between hard-hitting, soft-hearted, youthfully exuberant, and all grown up." Kelly Knickerbocker of the Dallas Observer
Dallas Observer
The Dallas Observer is a free alternative weekly newspaper distributed around the Dallas, Texas . At its inception, it was conceived as a weekly local arts and cinema review publication, with the credo "Advocate for Excellence in the Arts" on the cover. For a time during the early years, the paper...
also noted, "Heartbreak bodes well for creative processes, it seems. Not Without A Fight is full of performances by pissed-off dudes who are taking it back to their roots: raw punk-pop, with crafty and sometimes cynical lyrics."
The metaphor for the album title was described by Gilbert as "our personal war and the wars that you have in relationships with your loved ones. When you want something bad enough in life you have to fight for it. That’s like with our band. We love being in this band, and we’ll do whatever it takes to continue." Drummer Cyrus Bolooki further explained, "I think it just kind of goes in with the whole idea that we've been around for a while, and we really feel like a resurgence for us that after eleven years now we're still relevant. We're on tours with bands like Four Year Strong
Four Year Strong
Four Year Strong is an American pop punk band from Worcester, Massachusetts, formed in 2001. The group consists of vocalists and guitarists Dan O'Connor and Alan Day, bassist Joe Weiss, and drummer Jackson Massucco...
, A Day To Remember
A Day to Remember
A Day to Remember is an American rock band from Ocala, Florida. Founded in 2003 by guitarist Tom Denny and drummer Bobby Scruggs, the band has released four studio albums, nine singles and eight music videos...
and you know, a lot of these bands maybe first got into bands like us, so it's almost like another generation." Musically, Gilbert explained that unlike the harmony-driven Coming Home, the band wanted to return to a more energetic style both because of the embittered lyrics and the need to translate songs live. "We love [the songs off] Coming Home, but live we couldn't really rock out to them. And that's what we love. So I think naturally I was wanting rhythms that I knew I'd have fun playing live." He supported this by explaining the bands desire to alternate between albums; "Every album New Found Glory’s released is different in its own way, and we’ll continue to work that way. When we write albums, whatever comes out, comes out. We’re always real, and I think that’s why we still have the fans we do." Much of the lyrical themes also come in contrast to Coming Home, largely due to divorces that Pundik and Gilbert went through since writing the previous album, as well as their departure from Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
. Most topics deal with reflection and bitterness towards the former relationships. Gilbert found the best way to express these emotions was to revisit the fast-paced style of the band’s earlier days. "The truth of the matter is that when we did Coming Home we were all in love. I was engaged, Jordan was engaged, But since that time my relationship failed, Jordan's relationship failed and going into this record we had a lot of angst. We didn't aim to make a faster, more energetic record. That's just what really came out because of our natural emotion."
Release and promotion
The album was released through Epitaph RecordsEpitaph Records
Epitaph Records is a Hollywood, California based independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. The label was originally "just a logo and a P.O. box" created in the 1980s for the purpose of selling Bad Religion records, but has evolved into a large independent record...
on digipack and digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
formats, as well as vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
on Bridge Nine Records on March 13, 2009. Over a month before its official release, the album leaked
Internet leak
An Internet leak occurs when a party's confidential information is released to the public on the Internet. Various types of information and data can be, and have been, "leaked" to the Internet, the most common being personal information, computer software and source code, and artistic works such...
online. In response to this, guitarist Chad Gilbert stated although he was disappointed, he was happy for his band's music to be heard by any means: "As far as the leaking thing. If my favorite bands CD came out early online I would download it too. I will still buy it though because when I love a band I've got to have the album packaging and artwork. The whole building up to release date loses a bit of its excitement but to be honest, the fans that would go out of their way to download it are the true fans that go out of their way to buy merch and are the ones that will know the words first and sing every song at the show."
The first single from the album was "Listen to Your Friends", and was released on December 23, 2008. The music video, which was shot on November 5, 2008 in LA
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, premiered on March 9, 2009. The quintet set out on tour to support the album release in March along with Set Your Goals
Set Your Goals (band)
Set Your Goals is an American Pop-Punk band from Walnut Creek, CA , formed in 2004. Their musical style typically employs a combination of pop punk and melodic hardcore...
, Bayside
Bayside (band)
Bayside is an American punk rock band from Queens which formed in the winter of 2000. The band has released five full length albums since signing to Victory Records...
and Shai Hulud
Shai Hulud (band)
Shai Hulud is an American hardcore punk band with progressive metal influences, originally formed in Pompano Beach, Florida, the band later moved up to Poughkeepsie, New York....
. During the summer, the band made appearances for major festivals at the Rock AM Ring in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Reading and Leeds
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, sharing the same bill. The Reading Festival is held at Little John's Farm...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Soon afterwards, Cyrus Bolooki confirmed they had finished shooting the video for second single "Don't Let Her Pull You Down". The video premiered on October 15, and was released on October 20 via limited orange and sky blue vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
prints. Touring continued well into 2010, with the band headlining the Slam Dunk Festival along with Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio is an American punk rock band that formed in McHenry, Illinois, in 1996. The band's line-up consists of Matt Skiba , Dan Andriano , and Derek Grant...
and Capdown
Capdown
Capdown are a band from Milton Keynes, England. Originally known as Soap, their songs have political themes as alluded to by their name, which is short for Capitalist Downfall...
. Later in June, it was announced the band were shooting the video for "Truck Stop Blues", acting as promotion for the bands appearance on the 2010 Honda Civic Tour. The video was later released via the bands Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
and Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
pages on 21 July.
Reception
Critical response
Not Without a Fight garnered mostly positive reviews from music critics. Critic Ryan Cooper of About.comAbout.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
gave a favorable four star review, describing the overall sound as one "that bounces between chunky punk riffs and addictive pop hooks" while also stating, "it’s a straight-up representation of who New Found Glory has become, marking a return to classic pop punk". Joe DeAndrea, staff reviewer for AbsolutePunk, awarded a score of 86%. He said of the band that, "on Not Without a Fight, it's clear that New Found Glory still haven't lost their knack of creating an album with sing-a-long choruses and memorable guitar riffs that fans will love." He described the songs as "energy filled" and noted the album was "another breath of fresh air within a genre saturated with vocoder and neon. Andrew Leahey, in his review for Allmusic, awarded the album 3½ stars out of five. He praised the "mature performance" of frontman Jordan Pundik; "Unlike his younger pop-punk contemporaries, though, Pundik no longer seems smitten with the idea of a happy relationship. There are precious few traces of the urgent, here's-to-the-night ethos that other groups champion so heartily. Taken as a whole, Not Without a Fight is a pleasant listen, mature in its outlook, and happily adolescent in its vigor".
Alternative Press journalist Brendan Manley also awarded a score of 3½ stars out of five and claimed, "throughout Fight, it's the guitars, fueled by drummer Cyrus Bolooki's frenetic tempos, that exude the greatest return to form. From “47,” with its near-speed-metal breakdown to the raucous “I’ll Never Love Again” to the fluid, Tom DeLonge
Tom DeLonge
Thomas Matthew "Tom" DeLonge, Jr. is an American rock musician. He is the guitarist and one of the two lead vocalists for the American pop punk band Blink-182 as well as the guitarist and lead vocalist for the alternative band Angels & Airwaves...
-esque guitar lines in “Truck Stop Blues,” it becomes abundantly clear that guitarists Chad Gilbert and Steve Klein have rediscovered their mojo and have come to rock." Despite stating that the album lacked consistency in the latter half, he summarised that, "the record is a reminder of why we fell in love with NFG in the first place and for many of us, that's enough." Billboard magazine were also favourable, stating, "With Blink-182/+44 bassist Mark Hoppus producing, Fight does pack a wallop, enveloping frontman Jordan Pundik's angsty relationship paeans on a dozen compact, dynamic and hooky tracks in a mere 35 minutes". Alex Hofford of North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
-based newspaper, the Technician
Technician (newspaper)
Technician is the student newspaper of North Carolina State University. Its first edition was published in 1920, and it has been published continuously since that date.-Overview:...
, awarded the album 4½ stars out of five in his review. He called the album a "paradigm of the pop-punk craze from earlier in the decade", while noting, "New Found Glory has successfully combined the sounds from their previous ventures into one sonically cohesive album. Even when the band wants to slow down the pace with more melodic songs like "Reasons" and "Heartless At Best," they don't ruin the flow of the album. This is one "fight" you shouldn't miss." Q magazine writer Dave Everley awarded the album a "good" three out of five stars, opining that, "New Found Glory's newfound maturity makes for a palatable record that will soothe lovelorn rockers. It may not be their defining release, but its a reminder as to why the fivesome have garnered such a devout following."
Rock Sound
Rock Sound
Rock Sound is a British magazine which champions rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, whilst also giving coverage to more well known acts.-History:...
magazine were highly impressed and gave a score of nine out of ten, lauding the album as the band's best work to date. Andrew Kelham opined that, "each song is a thick cut of pop punk played to perfection by a group of musicians who have taken a genre by the throat and defined it with their sound". The A.V Club critic Aaron Burgess awarded the album a "B" grade and remarked; "the loud-guitar and crunching-rhythm style that drives the album, demonstrates that, softening middle years be damned, New Found Glory still hits hard enough to matter". Adam Webb, staff writer for Ultimate-Guitar was also largely favourable in his review, awarding a score of 8.3/10. He commented that the band had, "created a rockin' pop punk album that shows just why they stand so tall above the crowd of uneventful scenesters that is the tragedy of the music scene today". Hailing the band as the "undisputed kings of pop punk", he finalised his review by addding, "You'd be clinically insane not to give this album a go. Either that or you're blind, deaf and dumb. In which case you have a valid reason and a much bigger problem at hand". However, other reviews were less receptive. Tom Bryant of British magazine Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
was critical of the albums sound; "Their major label record deal came to a conclusion and they scurried back to the sort of independent punk label on which they first made their name. Next, they ask blink-182's Mark Hoppus to produce, a man who, intermittenty, is in the band to who NFG once aspired to be. It all begs the question as to whether this is a sound of a brand trying to recapture the past; a band having a midlife crisis." In his review for Rocklouder!, critic John Webber noted that "By no means is this a bad record; in fact it easily lays waste to most releases in the same vain this side of Coming Home, but when held up against such a stunning back catalogue, it is certainly not an essential purchase for any new fans." PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
echoed this sentiment by writing, "It doesn’t mean they’ve made a bad album here, just a predictable one. Attempting a traditionalist record in any genre is a game of constraints, and those constraints are fully felt on Not Without a Fight."
Accolades
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AbsolutePunk | United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Top 30 Albums of the Year | 2009 | 29 |
Track listing
All songs written and composed by New Found GloryNew Found Glory
New Found Glory is an American rock band from Coral Springs, Florida. Formed in the summer of 1997, founding members were lead vocalist Jordan Pundik, guitarists Chad Gilbert and Steve Klein, bassist Ian Grushka and drummer Joe Marino...
.
Personnel
The following personnel contributed to Not Without a Fight:New Found Glory
- Jordan PundikJordan PundikJordan Izaak Pundik is an American musician and songwriter.Pundik is a founding member and the frontman of rock band New Found Glory, for whom he sings lead vocals and contributes lyrics...
- lead vocals - Chad GilbertChad GilbertChad Everett Gilbert is an American musician and record producer. He is a founding member of the rock band New Found Glory, for whom he plays lead guitar, composes music and provides backing vocals...
- lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, backing vocals, composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media... - Steve KleinSteve Klein (musician)Stephen Lee "Steve" Klein is an American musician. Klein is a founding member of rock band New Found Glory, for whom he is the primary lyricist and plays rhythm guitar....
- rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, lyricsLyricsLyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of... - Ian Grushka - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Cyrus Bolooki - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussion
Production
- Mark HoppusMark HoppusMark Allan Hoppus is an American musician, record producer, and television host. He is the bass guitarist and one of the two lead vocalists of the pop punk band Blink-182, as well as the bass guitarist and lead vocalist of the alternative rock band +44. He is a co-founder of both bands...
- producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Chris Holmes - engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
- Neal AvronNeal AvronNeal Avron is an American musician, record producer, mixer, and audio engineer. Working predominately in rock music, Avron began working on records in 1993 and achieved his production breakthrough when he co-produced Everclear's 1997 album So Much For The Afterglow...
- mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Ted JensenTed JensenTed Jensen is an American recording engineer. Jensen is the chief mastering engineer at Sterling Sound. He started his career as a mastering engineer in 1976 and is currently the most active Mastering Engineer in the industry...
- masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced... - Ryan Russell - photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
- Sons of NeroSons of NeroSons of Nero is a graphic design group that was formed in 2000 by Matthew "Portland" Hay of the metalcore group Nora. It consists of four artists who primarily design artwork and packaging for bands and musical ensembles, but also design t-shirts and websites...
- art direction, designDesignDesign as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
Chart history
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... (ARIA ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... ) |
36 |
| U.K Albums Chart (The Official Charts Company) | 83 |
| U.S Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
12 |
| U.S Independent Albums (Billboard ) | 1 |
| U.S Alternative Albums (Billboard) | 5 |
| U.S Rock Albums (Billboard) | 5 |
| U.S Tastemaker Albums (Billboard) | 11 |
Chart procession and succession
Release history
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalogue # | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
February 21, 2009 | Shock Records Shock Records Shock Records is Australia's largest independent record label. It helps distribute records from overseas records labels such as Epitaph Records, and also for small record labels designed specifically for that band such as Cement Records... |
Digipak Digipak Digipak is a patented style of CD, DVD or BD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI World Ltd., an Atlas Holdings company.-Features:... , digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
70082 | |
| Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
March 4, 2009 | Epic Records Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A... |
Compact Disc Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... |
EICP-1114 | |
| Europe Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting... |
March 9, 2009 | Epitaph Records Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is a Hollywood, California based independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. The label was originally "just a logo and a P.O. box" created in the 1980s for the purpose of selling Bad Religion records, but has evolved into a large independent record... |
Digipak Digipak Digipak is a patented style of CD, DVD or BD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI World Ltd., an Atlas Holdings company.-Features:... , Digital Download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
87008 | |
| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
March 10, 2009 | ||||
| Bridge Nine Records | 12" Vinyl Gramophone record A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove... |
202081 |
External links
- New Found Glory at MyspaceMyspaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....