Arts and Entertainment
January 28, 2023
January 26, 2022 – Coral Springs, FL – Pop punk legends New Found Glory have shared a live performance of their song “Hit Or Miss” from the NFG Unplugged Total Request Livestream in 2021. “Hit Or Miss” has remained one of the most quintessential songs in New Found Glory’s catalogue – and the genre itself – since its release in 1999. The live recording, along with six other performances from the livestream, can be found on New Found Glory’s new acoustic album Make The Most Of It.
“Hit Or Miss” is available to watch on YouTube now at https://youtu.be/jVMMKjZ6XJA
New Found Glory recently released their acoustic album, Make The Most Of It, on January 20 via Revelation Records. The album features seven brand new tracks written in the wake of Gilbert’s cancer diagnosis alongside seven live acoustic versions of fan favorites like “The Story So Far” and “Hit Or Miss”. Make The Most Of It is a rumination on what it means to grieve, to live, to approach every day with appreciation and a sense of fulfillment.
Make The Most Of It is available to order – including exclusive vinyl pressings and shirts – now at https://revhq.com/collections/new-found-glory
Fans can stream Make The Most Of It at https://orcd.co/6v5lygb
In December 2021, fresh off the celebratory Pop Punk’s Still Not Dead Tour in support of their 10th
album, Forever + Ever x Infinity, Gilbert was found unresponsive in bed at home, rushed to a local hospital, and diagnosed with an 8-inch cancerous tumor, a rare pheochromocytoma. Hospital stays, surgery, and a long road to recovery followed – but, in typical New Found Glory fashion, so did the songs.
“I didn’t want this to be the ‘cancer record’ originally,” Gilbert admits. “But when we went on tour and people started hearing the story and connecting to it, I gave up on trying to control the narrative. Not all bands are dealt these cards, but we were. Let’s take these songs and help the disease get awareness and raise money for a cause that’s working on education and research for my rare cancer.”
A percentage of proceeds from Make The Most Of It will go to The Pheo Para Alliance, the longest standing internationally recognized leader in advocacy for, and awareness of, pheochromocytoma. New Found Glory have also released a limited-edition charity shirt to benefit The Pheo Para Alliance, available now at https://newfoundglorystuff.com
New Found Glory recently released Walk Through Fire, an intimate video where the band discusses Chad’s journey with pheochromocytoma alongside reactions and reflections from the band as a whole, from initial diagnosis to the beginning seeds of Make The Most Of It to present day. Walk Through Fire is available to watch now at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kGGEihEoXA&feature=youtu.be
“Even though the songs are sadder, they’re still hopeful,” Gilbert says. “You hear so much online
about mental health and fear and anxiety. I feel proud that we can release an album with joy and honesty in a way that will hopefully make people less fearful of life. A lot of times we punish ourselves for things that might never happen. I’m going through something that did happen, but doing it with hope and joy and a greater appreciation.”
As New Found Glory can attest, life moves quickly. Just three years after forming in Coral Springs, Florida, in 1997, the group were fast-tracked from local upstarts to mainstream stars on the back of ebullient pop melodies and hardcore-tinged breakdowns, setting off a blast of pop-punk dynamite that still lights the torch for modern acts more than two decades later. They became the voice of an underground movement, spurring iconic gold and platinum records (2000’s New Found Glory, 2002’s Sticks & Stones, and 2004’s Catalyst), countless MTV appearances, an entire subgenre (easycore) and sold-out tours the world over.
The band’s new acoustic album, Make The Most Of It (Revelation Records), tackles the last year head-on with their most emotional and cathartic collection of songs to date.
In many ways, it’s remarkable it took New Found Glory 25 years to release an acoustic album. Masters of stop-gap invention – from the ever-popular From The Screen To Your Stereo movie theme cover EPs to their hardcore alter egos International Superheroes Of Hardcore – the band have balanced the impulses of new and nostalgic better than nearly every one of their peers.
New Found Glory is Jordan Pundik (lead vocals), Chad Gilbert (guitar), Ian Grushka (bass guitar) and Cyrus Bolooki (drums).
"New Found Glory have been making pop-punk for more than two decades, and that experience and know-how is apparent on "Make the Most of It", the band's first proper acoustic set... With its intimate lyrics and delicate delivery, "Make the Most of It" is one of New Found Glory's most distinct records and stands out in a catalog of more homogeneous fare." - Blabbermouth
"New Found Glory’s latest album ‘Make The Most Of It’ is exactly what everyone needed. Make The Most Of It emphasizes New Found Glory’s maturity and expertise as a band. With diverse guitar melodies and soft vocals, the true passion of the tracks comes to light." - All Punked Up
"For a genre (pop-punk) that can sometimes dwell on negatives, Make the Most of It lives up to its name, focusing on life’s positives. The heavy and personal subject matter may not be for everyone, but the songs are written and performed in a way that the overarching message should resonate for many." - RIFF Magazine
"For a band as quintessentially pop-punk as New Found Glory, they’ve found a way to translate that teenage angst and easycore pop-goodness they do so well, into the emotionally vulnerable, and entirely acoustic, EP, Make The Most Of It." - Stitched Sound
"One of the things that is incredible about NFG is their ability to take such a tragic event, moment, and situation and write a song that both punches you in the feelings, but also is upbeat enough to sing along to and have a smile on your face [...] This album is going to be powerful and meaningful for a large number of people, but there are going to be some people that see themselves in these lyrics more than anyone else." - You Make The Scene
"In all, Make The Most Of It is a strong new addition to NFG’s catalog of releases. Its subject matter may mostly be a bit heavier and emotional, reflecting Gilbert’s serious health matters, but the new material features some of the band’s strongest songwriting in the past few years." - Rock Cellar Magazine