New Found Glory has long been one of my favourite pop punk bands. The band actually formed back in 1997 and never once to date has the music disappointed me in the slightest. Fresh off the back of the recently released ‘Greatest Hits’ album, New Found Glory has here recorded an exquisitely fine EP in the form of ‘Tip of the Iceberg’ which features three new tracks as well as three covers. This is actually a double disc release and the second disc here is an International Superheroes of Hardcore (ISHC) album under the name of ‘Takin’ It Ova’. The band ISHC actually comprises of all five members of New Found Glory, you wouldn’t know it however as the sound that is here created is that of hardcore and is a far cry from the New Found Glory sound we’ve all come to know and love over the years. The ‘Greatest Hits’ album was the last in New Found Glory’s contract with Geffen Records, the band is therefore free now to record as they wish and this double-disc feature is the resultant factor of the bands newly found freedom.
The New Found Glory EP actually opens with title track ‘Tip of the Iceberg’, a fine way to start this release and one that really sets the mood nicely. New Found Glory has always been a pop punk band made up of hardcore fans, and the bands hardcore influence definitely shines through strongly on the six tracks of this EP. The vocals are the standard energetic New Found Glory affair of upbeat excellence, the musical backing however is certainly a lot more hard edged than usual. With every New Found Glory release I feel that the vocals of Jordan Pundik just get better and better, and this is most certainly a trend that has been continued here. Throughout all of the new tracks ‘Tip of the Iceberg’, ‘Dig My Own Grave’, and ‘If You Don’t Love Me’ always the vocals are greatly impressive. ‘Dig My Own Grave’ actually hints at what’s to come with the ISHC album, towards the end of the track there is a dual vocal attack of Jordan Pundik and Chad Gilbert also, Jordan offering the enthusiastic pop punk vocal tones of old and Chad contrasting this with a hard hitting hardcore shout of a vocal reply.
‘If You Don’t Love Me’ brings an end to the new material here and is perhaps my favourite of all the new tracks that are included here on this EP. It;s very different to the standard New Found Glory track and the vocals of Jordan Pundik do in fact sound better than ever here. The track comes complete with some interesting tempo changes and never does the music here disappoint. It’s a well put together track, probably one of the best songs that New Found Glory has ever put together as a band in fact. It clocks in at just under two minutes and is an exceptionally fine display of music from the band for sure; that’s another thing about the new tracks from this EP, two of them are less than two minutes in length and the other clocks in at just over the two minute mark. The band has here favoured short recordings rather than dragging the songs out and this I feel has worked out incredibly well for New Found Glory on this release.
After beginning with three totally brand new tracks for the first half of this release, the second half of this EP shows a display of the bands influences and here there are three covers; of Gorilla Biscuits, Shelter, and Lifetime respectively. With all three of these covers the band sticks very much to the original formula of the original tracks, at the same time however a definite New Found Glory feel and sheen is here on display. The band make the music their own in a way that does not detract from the quality of the original recordings, the members of New Found Glory here pay their respects to the scene that they came from and have a strong love for. The music is exciting and the cover tracks are executed excellently on three separate occasions here to absolute perfection. The bands cover of Lifetime’s ‘Cut The Tension’ has to be my favourite from this EP I feel, such energy is on display here and this is perhaps one of the finest New Found Glory tracks ever to have been recorded. It’s certainly up there amongst my favourites, as is ‘If You Don’t Love Me’ in fact; always the music on display with this EP is impressive and six tracks of absolute musical brilliance have been recorded by the band here.
As the second disc begins with the ‘ISHC Theme Song’, straight away the music of the International Superheroes of Hardcore makes an instant impression. The music is fast, Chad Gilbert and Jordan Pundik alternate their vocal and guitar duties, and always the sound created here is highly impressive. With this album the band puts across its views about certain music genres of today, and also the lyrics discuss such subjects as the importance of wearing seatbelts, and the bands appreciation for the hardcore band Madball. The tracks are kept short (most come in at around the one minute mark) and ‘Takin’ It Ova’ is a greatly impressive display of hardcore music which displays mightily the bands terrific sense of humour.
If you’re aware of the Agnostic Front track ‘Gotta Go’ then the introduction to the ISHC song ‘Screamo Gotta Go’ will be one that you shall recognise. The band bellows out the vocal of ‘From the East Coast to the West Coast; Screamo, Screamo Gotta Go’ before jumping into a full on 56 second attack at the genre of screamo and the ridiculous fashion sense of those that listen to this genre of music. It’s an amusing track and in the middle contains the token melodic moment in which the band states ‘This is the part where you want the girls to think you’re cute’, it ridicules the screamo genre and I for one absolutely love it. The music on display here is fun and always listening to this ‘Takin’ It Ova’ album provides for a greatly enjoyable experience. Jordan Pundik and Chad Gilbert shout and scream their way through this album, always the music entertains and never is there a dull moment here.
The album reaches its end with a track titled ‘Ebay Revenge’, an amusing little number which talks of the time wasters of the internet auction website that commit to a buy and then never pay up. It’s a decent way to end the album, a one minute track which caps off nicely what is an incredibly well put together album. ‘Takin’ It Ova’ is not the finest display of hardcore you will ever hear, what it is however is a greatly amusing and aurally entertaining album which comprises of twelve tracks and a grand total of fifteen minutes of music. Together this musical double bill of New Found Glory EP and ISHC album therefore adds up to a grand total of 27 minutes, it’s not a massive amount of music really but it’s certainly an entertaining mix.
This ‘Tip of the Iceberg/Takin’ It Ova’ release is most definitely one that I would recommend listening to. For those that have always found the music of New Found Glory to be a bit too pop heavy then this release should come as a pleasant surprise, and for fellow fans of the band this double disc release should provide for a great half an hour of utmost enjoyment. In 2004 New Found Glory showcased a harder edge to the music with the ‘Intro’ track that opened the ‘Catalyst’ album. What I would say about the three new tracks that are displayed on the ‘Tip of the Iceberg’ EP is that here you can here expect more to be shown of this harder hitting side of the band. The music is edgier, the guitars are more powerful, and with the latter three tracks of the EP the band showcases its musical influences with three fine hardcore covers. It’s an absolutely brilliant EP from New Found Glory, and the second disc of the ISHC album that follows is just as excellent.
To further emphasise what I said before; if you were not aware that the music of ISHC was created by the five members of New Found Glory then never would you know it. To listen to the ISHC album is nothing like listening to a New Found Glory release, the vocals don’t possess any striking similarity and it’s basically just an energetic offering of hardcore punk with a high level of humour here included. New Found Glory and ISHC are effectively the same band, it certainly doesn’t sound that way however and yet ‘both’ bands are excellent. The music of ISHC has just as much to offer as that of New Found Glory, the ideas are just presented here in different ways. Listening to this double-disc album is absolutely excellent; I have nothing but love for this release and would therefore wholly recommend giving ‘Tip of the Iceberg/Takin’ It Ova’ a listen. Regardless of whether or not you’ve ever been a fan of New Found Glory in the past I feel that there is plenty to take from this release and always the band has much to offer with the music. Ownership of this release is absolutely essential I feel, the sound created is really well put across by the five members of New Found Glory and never is there a dull moment in the 27 minutes of music that this double disc has to offer.
Label: Bridge Nine Records
Release Date: 28th April 2008
Rating:
UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
