[pullquote quote="It was about trying to bridge the gap between where our genre is today and where our genre was twenty years ago and try to blend that into one and create a new sound."]Inspired by the fathers of modern pop-punk like [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Green Day[/lastfm], [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Rancid[/lastfm], and [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Pennywise[/lastfm], [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]New Found Glory[/lastfm] started as a bunch of passionate young punk-purveyors from Coral Springs, Florida and in the last fourteen years has became one of the most iconic and wholly representative bands of the pop-punk cannon.

A dozen years after the release of their début album, Nothing Gold Can Stay, New Found Glory is releasing their seventh album, Radiosurgery, which guitarist [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Chad Gilbert[/lastfm] agreed was a back-to-basics throwback album that pays homage to their influences and represents those “straight-forward, fun songs that made you forget about all the sh*tty things in life and just have a good time.”

Not only did we get to chat with Gilbert from New Found Glory about making the new record, but KROQ is world-premiering three exclusive new tracks from Radiosurgery today, Wednesday, and Thursday!

[pullquote quote="When you say, 'Oh, it sounds like a break-up record,' it sounds like a bunch of high school kids writing in their diary. But that's not what this is. This is a very realistic."]We’d already read in interviews that the theme behind Radiosurgery was a pop-punk break-up album, but Gilbert wanted to clarify that the album is a lot more mature, realistic, and honest than the lovelorn, poetric lyrics that one might expect.

“It’s silly to just call it just a break-up record. When you say, ‘Oh, it sounds like a break-up record,’ it sounds like a bunch of high school kids writing in their diary. But that’s not what this is. This is a very realistic…just very honest lyrics without pointing the blame.”

“It’s just about all the sort of stages you go through. The anger, the sadness, then there’s sort of the insanity where you’re like ‘Screw it. I don’t care about this person. I’m going to go out and cause some trouble and do some shit with my friends. Then the regret in that.

“It’s sort of just a really honest take on all the things you go through when you pretty much can’t forget somebody that broke your heart.”

“The reason that it’s the ‘Anthem For The Unwanted’ is, basically, it sums up the point in a relationship where you pretty much are getting kicked out. It’s pretty much the beginning of the end. It’s pretty much the first step to the stages of a break-up…That’s what that song is about.”

Despite the heavy nature of Radiosurgery‘s theme, New Found Glory still wanted to embody the fun, freewheeling pop-punk that they grew up listening to.

[pullquote quote="It might sound ridiculous but we always joke and say that it's our modern-day 'Bro Hymn.' "]According to Gilbert, one of their main goals was to add tons of crowd-participation moments in their record while “bridging the gap” between where their “genre is today” and where it was “twenty years ago.” That sentiment is pretty reflective in “Anthem For The Unwanted.”

“The song starts with sort of a sing-a-long and that’s why it’s called the ‘Anthem For The Unwanted.’ It might sound ridiculous but we always joke and say that it’s our modern-day ‘Bro Hymn.’ [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Pennywise[/lastfm] has that ‘Bro Hymn’ song where it has that huge sing-a-long. Ours is nowhere as cool as Pennywise, but we wanted a song that sort of felt like an anthem…We’re all about our live shows so we try to incorporate as much crowd participation stuff into our records.”

“We found ourselves looking in our genre and…we felt sort of one of the key elements that makes our genre what it is. is sort of getting lost. You know, a lot of newer production is very slick…I just feel like what got us into music were these very straight-forward, fun songs that made you forget about all the shitty things in life and just have a good time.”

[pullquote quote="It's just those classic records that you can put on now and they still sound new and fresh."]“I feel like a lot of times lately, it’s a bunch of people complaining about life but also making their music resemble that. There’s so much going on right now that we just wanted a record that would make people forget about that and enjoy music again and have a good time.”

“When we first got into the genre, we loved Green Day ‘Dookie’ and Green Day ‘Kerplunk!’  and all this old Lookout! Record stuff and old Ramones. It’s just those classic records that you can put on now and they still sound new and fresh.”

“I don’t want to sound like we went and tried to rip any of that. It wasn’t about ripping it off, but it was about trying to bridge the gap between where our genre is today and where our genre was twenty years ago and try to blend that into one and create a new sound.”

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“Anthem For The Unwanted”

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