New Found Glory/ISHC -Tip of the Iceberg EP

Mon 2nd Jun, 2008 in Music Reviews

After making a career of writing pop-punk songs about girls and being responsible for a legion of bands with terribly nasal singers, New Found Glory are still kicking on after being kicked off the Geffen Records roster. They recently found a new home at Bridge Nine, which at first seems like somewhat of a weird relationship given that it is home to the likes of Sick of It All, Champion and H2O.

It seems there are quite a few people who think From the Screen to Your Stereo Pt. II is NFG’s latest effort, completely unaware of this double CD release of (mostly) new material. Disc One is the Tip of the Iceberg EP, comprising of three original songs backed by covers of Gorilla Biscuits, Shelter and Lifetime. Disc Two sees the band members convert to their alter egos as… yep, you guessed it, the International Superheroes of Hardcore. A little more on this disc in a moment.

I must admit, if it wasn’t already clear, I was pretty sceptical at first. Everything about this release just screams of washed-up rockers trying to clutch for any last moment of glory before their inevitable and reluctantly expected demise. They’ve already released two full-length covers albums and contributed covers to the latest Punk Goes compilation – what are they doing releasing a six-track EP with only half the songs being original? Come on, surely you could be a little more creative, guys.

In goes the CD, and the play button is begrudgingly pressed. What’s that? Where is the whiney voice? Can my ears possibly be deceiving me? Is this really New Found Glory? Yes, my friends, yes it is. The album opener and title track is a slice of early – œ00s skate-punk with that distinctly NFG spin, and as I’m about to find out the title is rather apt. Followed by a crunching post-hardcore number, guitar mutes and double-kick breakdowns are plentiful, screams are almost expected, but melodic vocals cut in instead providing some of the most original and interesting material the band has ever created. If You Don’t Love Me is much more in the direction you’d expect them to head, but with a heavier feel. It has become clear that they can write a fantastic and heavy-ish song, something they should probably focus on for future releases.

Not much really needs to be said about the next three tracks. They are covers of GB’s No Reason Why, Shelter’s Here We Go Again and Lifetime’s Cut The Tension. All are reasonably faithful to the originals. They attempt to shed some light on where they have come from and where their influences lie. There’s really nothing more to be said than that they are an excellent listen.

Now onto the second disc, Takin’ It Ova by International Superheroes of Hardcore, originally self-released in 2007 (versions of some songs date back even earlier). ISHC features all five members of New Found Glory, with Jordan and Chad swapping their vocal and guitar duties. What makes this record so great is that it’s 12 tracks of balls-to-the-wall, no nonsense hardcore music.

It’s paired with hilarious, ridiculous and utterly fantastic lyrics tackling topics ranging from screamo to shit-talking in the hardcore scene, encouraging the use of seat belts, being tight with Madball and cussing. Personal favourites include “don’t say – œfuck’ when that word sucks / why say – œshit’ when you can say – œshucks’,” “You might think you look stupid / but the ISHC think it’s cool… Never forget, Never Forget / your seatbelt, seatbelt,” and “Why can’t you pay me it’s not that tough / to get online and pay me on time / weeks go by and still not a dime.”

If there was anything to complain about it’s that both discs are just way too short – 18 songs in total with a running time of less than 28 minutes. It’s a pity that not many people seem to realise this is out, because it has to be heard to be believed. It’s an unexpected and unprecedented level of awesome for the Floridian pop-punkers. Let’s hope to see a lot more of this in future.