New Found Glory (often referred to as ) is the second studio album and major label debut by the American rock band of the same name. It was produced and mixed by Neal Avron and released on September 26, 2000, through Drive-Thru and MCA Records. Featuring a new recording of the band's breakthrough single "Hit or Miss", the album was later certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) with shipments of 500,000 units.
During the band's American tour in late 2009, they announced a special edition re-release of the album to celebrate its tenth anniversary. The deluxe package included new liner notes, seven b-sides and a DVD. A commemorative tour also took place with the album played live in its entirety. In recent years, the album is often cited by music critics as one of the greatest pop punk albums of all time, and was officially inducted into the Rock Sound Hall of Fame in 2012.
Background and recording
Following the underground success of debut album Nothing Gold Can Stay (1999), Drive-Thru Records founder Richard Reines had paid Eulogy Recordings $5,000 to license the album and sign the band. Drive-Thru had initially wanted to re-release Nothing Gold Can Stay along with a newly recorded version of breakthrough single "Hit or Miss". Chad Gilbert said of the process, "So we went into the studio with Jerry Finn and recorded it with him. I don't like how it came out, at all. He was such a cool guy, but we were like, 'nah, we don't want to use it'". The reissue appeared in October and was promoted with a music video for "Hit or Miss". Around this time, the band took a two-week break from touring and entered a studio to record the From the Screen to Your Stereo EP, which was released in March 2000.
From June 2000, the band took a six-week break from touring to record an album with producer Neal Avron. Having met him previously, the two parties discussed the desired sound the band were striving for on the record. Avron said, "During pre-production, we'd get in their van for lunch and they had a poster of Britney Spears up. They wanted the music to be heavy, but the vocals to be super-pop, that was the goal". Sessions were held at Elysian Fields Studios in Boca Raton, Florida; Avron was assisted by Chad Milosevich. Avron mixed the recordings at Chapel Studios in Los Angeles, California with assistance from Dan Adams and Joe Primeau, before the album was mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering. They re-recorded "Hit or Miss" again, as they felt the increase in recording budget would help the song. Avron felt that less focus on the drums was better; he would be apprehensive when Bolooki came up with a fill. As a result, most of the drum parts were "kind of more laid back" than what Bolooki had intended.
Composition
Musically, New Found Glory has been described as pop punk, comprising upbeat rhythms, buzzing guitar work, and nasally vocals, drawing comparisons to Blink-182 and the Get Up Kids. Gilbert said the group attempted to merge the rhythm of New York hardcore with elements of west coast punk. Bolooki said the title was purposely left ambiguous as it "could mean anything". Guitarist and lyricist Steve Klein originally claimed that the album was about one sole girl he dated for a year-and-a-half. The lyrics tackle the topics of growing up, having relationships and moving forward in life. Discussing the writing process, Bolooki said Gilbert would typically come up with a few riffs and make the outline of a song with them. He then shares it with the rest of the band, who worked on its structure, before Klein works on vocal melodies with Pundik. It gets shared with the band again for them to add the final touches.
The opening track "Better Off Dead" starts with fast-paced drums and up-tempo guitar riffs, which Gilbert said was indebted to his punk and hardcore roots. It is followed by "Dressed to Kill", which talks about touring. "Hit or Miss" sees the narrator tell a story of waiting by a phone that will never ring, and references "Thriller" by Michael Jackson. Klein wrote it after remembering things that he didn't like about his ex and debating whether it was right to break up with her. Discussing "Sucker", Klein said it was him telling the girl that inspired Nothing Gold Can Stay that none of the tracks on New Found Glory were about her. "Boy Crazy" talks about the typical way girls fall in love with various guys. The closing track "Ballad for the Lost Romantics" is a tongue-in-cheek number about the songs that couples listen to early in their relationships.