“Happy Being Miserable” is the single released as a tease before the album debuted, paired with a music video that was based off of a scene from Stand By Me. The song starts off strong with hard hitting drums and guitar riffs and Jordan leads into the chorus, “I want the best for you/ But you’re happy being miserable/ I don’t want to know you/ Or someone who’s so focused on themselves/ I’ll save my best for someone else”. This easy to sing along to chorus and catchy tune would work well in a live setting. “Party on Apocalypse” is another big one, being the epitome of what makes the band members sick, including lyrics about the “YOLO” generation and “selfie nation” that bombards our culture with a backdrop of another catchy pop punk tune and chorus.
They call out those who try to out-yell others in arguments in “Say It Don’t Spray It”, singing “State your case/ Your voice proud and bold/ You lost soul/ Dead to your own ways/ On your pedestal/ You pat yourself on your own back”. This idea is not lost on those familiar with today’s media platforms and modern politics. This is nicely paired with “Call Me Anti-Social”, a song that says Jordan feels better staying inside, away from all these people he can’t relate to out there in the world. This track screams old Blink-182 with its format and standard guitar riffs along with the simple yet strong percussion to hold it down. “Sound of Two Voices” seems to stand out the most, probably because it attempts to incorporate a tropical sound from the beginning and keeps it as an undertone throughout the song. However, it dies out at a lot of points and sounds a bit confused when overpowered by the rock sound.
While NFG do not spare the general public at all about their destructive and confusing antics, it also does not avoid turning to a more introspective examination of sickening behavior. On the track “Blurred Vision”, which enters in on stream of synths that differs from the rest of the album, Jordan talks of how disgusted he is with himself for being so bitter and putting himself down all these years when he could have been doing better things. He sings, “When I think back, I still get a feeling/ I’m so ashamed of all the time that it took/ For me to open my eyes”. “Barbed Wire” is more of a love song without the romance and more of the mistake and toil-ridden athem of “at least we have each other”. Its fast-paced and full of the band’s usual punk melodies glazed with synthesizers. “Short and Sweet” seems to add to this while being in fact very short and sweet, devoid of frills and details. Being the most simple and repetitive song on the album, it’s actually quite creative because of it’s self proclamation of being extremely plain.
Lyrically, New Found Glory haven’t released anything too profound on this album, but has produced a theme that many of their loyal fans can sing along to and enjoy. The common slogan of many these days about the millennials and all of their habits is very prevalent throughout the lyrics and will most likely strike a chord with the group of fans that have followed them from the beginning. While the musicality of the songs haven’t differed much besides the addition of synths and a lighter, bouncier sound, the band has delivered another set of tracks that reflect what got them famous in the first place.
Written by Brenna Nelson
