It's likely that in some dimension you grew up with New Found Glory, whether they were the band that helped you discover music outside the radio or even taught you what you didn't like in a vocalist.
The band that has likely graced your stereo at some point since 1997 is back with a solid album that takes the band in a different and pleasantly unexpected direction.
"Coming Home" is the Florida five-piece's attempt to reclaim footing in the currently ultra-trendy alternative scene - a place where the band secured a top seat following their sophomore, self-titled release in 2000.
The two full-length albums following "New Found Glory" received mixed press, however. NFG then took a two-year hiatus before releasing this album, an effort to reshape the direction of the band. Upon first play, "Coming Home" exudes NFG's development: pop-punk for the mature palette.
"Home"'s songs are less confined to formulaic pop-punk structure and take on a fuller sound. Being a pop-punk band without writing the same record again means maturing in some direction. However, with pop-oriented bands, it's difficult to find the line between youth and immaturity. NFG creates a viable standard of maturity on "Coming Home," with better song structure and more conscious vocal and instrumental decisions.
Immediately discernable from the first track, "Oxygen," NFG presents a more cohesive package. Vocalist Jordan Pundik's transformation is the foremost factor; his squeaky teenage edge, which contributed to streamlining NFG's sound, is tamed to a much more pleasant tone.
The progression is underscored in tracks like "On My Mind" and "Make Your Move." Vocals on the record have generally changed with implementation of vocal layering, going beyond typical pop-punk harmonies. The lead vocal lines do not take many risks, but added elements, such as female vocals on "Connected" and the full-choir sound on "Boulders" dynamically enhance "Coming Home."
"Oxygen" sets the tone of the record as characteristically bright, but in a much less deliberate way than NFG is used to. "Oxygen" includes mixed electric, acoustic, and clean lines; it's interestingly ambient for pop-punk. Its soothing and non-abrasive sound furthers the feeling of maturity on the record.
A classic rock influence with which NFG has never openly toyed is evident in "Taken Back By You." The track features more classic guitar lines helping to paint a totally different song structure, and dirtier guitars and darker undertones are present despite the track's anthem-like chorus.
Despite the album's assets, tracks like "Hold My Hand" still have characteristically immature lyrics like, "You smell like how angels ought to smell." These aspects of the record don't necessarily lessen the impact of NFG's more mature persona, but rather help to define how the band has grown.
"Love And Pain" is a good example of this progression; the track is a slower, bigger version of classic NFG, but following "Too Good To Be," it provides an interesting segue underscoring NFG's transition. "Home" handles the heavier subject matter and slow songs better than its predecessors. As a mid-paced ballad, the title track is more palatable than, say, "I Don't Wanna Know" from "Catalyst" (2004).
Perhaps the largest downfall of the record is the final track, "It's All Around You." In keeping with NFG tradition, the song is poppy and light (more than the rest of the record), but, consequently, it feels comparatively weak and predicable.
The album suffers both from the song and its placement, because the listener has been trained throughout the record to expect a fairly hefty progression from old NFG sound. While much of the album is worlds different, it ends on a sour, generic, watered-down note.
Less likely to catch on with a younger and newer crowd, "Coming Home" is instead constructed as a record for fans that have moved with the group through their discography.
There is something about NFG that keeps them away from being a radio-rock band, especially on "Coming Home." New Found Glory proves on this fifth release that they know where to grow and where to keep it soft around the edges.
