Sticks and Stones

Limited edition includes 3 bonus tracks 'Anniversary', 'Forget Everything' & 'The Story So Far' (Acoustic Version).

Sticks and Stones, the third record from Florida emo-punkers New Found Glory, might wear its broken heart on its sleeve, but that doesn't mean it has to pretend to be mature. No, Blink-182's first choice of opening band have a firm grasp of the puerile: Sticks and Stones churns out dumb punk thrills at such a breakneck pace, you'd swear they were going out of fashion. The chugging "It's Been a Summer" does Blink as well as Travis, Mark, and Tom do themselves, while "Head-On Collision" displays the group's tender emo side, frontman Jordan Pundik smarting at a vicious relationship spat. "It feels like I'm bruised and broken / From our head-on collision," he sobs, as guitars crunch and blunder madly in the background. Thing is, although some of the tunes are spot on--particularly, the lovestruck "My Friend's Over You" and the moshpit-friendly "Something I Call Personality"--there's little to radically distinguish New Found Glory from their peers. If you're a diehard pop-punk fan, you've probably got records like this--and better--in your collection already. --Louis Pattison