Major-label pop-punk (and punk-adjacent) carries some seriously negative connotations, at least to an extent. Albums like Dirty Work and Against Me’s New Wave conjure up memories of soulless pop music (the former) and incredibly loud cries of selling out (the latter). Considering that many of these fans are averse to their favorite bands having financial security and you can perhaps understand the frustration.
A similar experience befell New Found Glory on 2004’s Catalyst. Released on May 18th, 2004, it arrived as another wave of pop-punk and post-hardcore bands were starting to crest. While perhaps not as heralded as their previous albums, it was the album that cemented their mainstream success. Hit singles “All Downhill From Here”, “This Disaster”, and the keyboard-driven “Failure’s Not Flattering” (thanks, James Dewees!) ensured both success and a surprising amount of diversity. Perhaps not a classic, but certainly it could’ve been a “disaster” and ultimately was not.
