You’d suspect the ‘Pop punk’s not dead’ slogan on New Found Glory’s latest was an ironic play on an old punk maxim, were they not such devout devotees to the genre.
That this a concept album about the removal of memories and emotions following a relationship break-up will do little to change opinions.
As ever, New Found Glory blast through some heavily sugar-coated pop songs. However, lacking the bite of key influences NOFX and Rancid, the likes of Anthem For The Unwanted and I‘m Not The One are closer to Glee than any gutter punk classics.
And hearing men entering their 30s yearning for lost summer flings just seems a bit weird. NFG have faced that dilemma of where a teen punk band goes when they get older by totally ignoring it and carrying on singing lightweight songs almost entirely about girls.
Existing fans will be happy but Radio Surgery offers few surprises.
