New Found Glory
Failure's Not Flattering (What's Your Problem)

So, what are the kids really digging right now, what’s really hot? Hey, the ‘80s! Yeah! The Cure! The Smiths! The Pixies! The Joy Division! Seems somebody told New Found Glory, then, who assure us that new single ’Failure’s Not Flattering (What’s Your Problem)’ duly “nods to the songwriting and production of the ‘80s.” Sorry, what did you say? Something about bandwagons?

Come on, give ‘em a chance. They could have gone all Steve Strange on us, and started twitching in electro-noir convulsions whilst wearing leg warmers and playing with a Rubik’s cube to emphasise the point as if electroclash never embarrassed anyone. Ah, well, alas, no. For ’…Flattering’ is just like the American Pie Soundtrack fodder that NFG have become, ahem, ‘renowned’ for, all pop(ulist) punk with large guitars and dodgy whining vocals and the instruments stopping before the ‘wooooah’ of a chorus comes in. But – get this – with a big rasping synth! Playing a melody at least twice in the song! I can hear breakfasts being revisited already. Not flattering indeed.