A lot can change for a band in nearly two decades. There are the normal everyday life ups and downs that everyone goes through, of course, and there’s the waxing and waning of cultural trends and public perception to contend with. (Ello, anyone?) But in their lengthy career (the band put out their first EP in 1997), Florida pop-punk icons New Found Glory have largely stayed the course, occasionally flirting with the mainstream, never deviating too far afield from the sound that ultimately earned them their ride-or-die fan base in the first place.
As you might expect from a band crossing their eighth album milestone, they’re somewhat more reflective on Resurrection, as guitarist Chad Gilbert explained over the phone from Connecticut, where he and the band had just finished soundcheck for a show that night. In characteristic form, they’ve been inviting fans request any song they want to hear at their shows. “We have a few hundred songs — but if we can remember it — we’ll play it,” he joked.
The feeling of rebirth, of dusting oneself off, and moving ahead runs throughout the record; hell, the concept is right there in the title. The band had written the song “Resurrection” first, and it felt like a perfect way to encapsulate the tone of the record. “Singing songs about our friends, you never cared about them,” Jordan Pundik sings. “So long, and thanks for nothing. I’m gone, I’m moving on, watch my resurrection.”