Special: Ranking New Found Glory's "December's Here"

It's been over a year since I've last ranked an album and the last time I did was when NFG's self-titled album turned 20 in September 2020. Now they just recently released their first full length holiday album and since it is the season for Christmas specials on the blog thought this was a wonderful time to rank this. Normally I like to sit with an album longer before doing something like this but hey maybe it'll be a fun thing to go back on next year.

11. Santa Forgive Me

Although most of the tracks on this album are lyrically simple, harkening back to Christmas classics of the past with the guitars taking a back seat to the bass and drums, Santa Forgive Me is arguably the most simple and the least likely to come back to.

10. Christmas Card

Christmas Card just missed the bottom spot as instantly it was one of my least liked tracks on this album with it's repetitive lyrics but ultimately I gave it a nudge up for at least singing about something (finding the perfect Christmas card) that hasn't been done a million times before.

9. For Christmas Sake

The nostalgia is real on the closing track of this album. Harkening back to toys wanted as children of the 80's (He-Man and G.I. Joe among others) shows us the innocence Christmas brings out of people even as adults just simply looking back.

8. Snow

Lyrically Snow is likely one of, if not the strongest track on this record but this slow paced ballad doesn't do enough instrumentally to stand out among the other similar tracks here. It also has not been a favourite of mine being released back in 2014 but still not making it onto a volume of "What's A Partridge? What's A Pear Tree?" my annual Christmas comp. (shameless plug)

7. Nothing For Christmas

Speaking of my Christmas CD, Nothing For Christmas was featured way back on volume 6 and although it has been mixed slightly different on this album it's still basically the same song so it lands here in the middle of the tracklist ranking.

6. It Never Snows In Florida (Holiday Version)

The oldest song released on this album, the original version was featured on NFG's full length debut back in 1999 as a high octane pop-punk song. For the holidays it's an acoustic jam with jingle bells replacing the drum sounds. Never a big fan of the original this now works as a holiday jam with the new instrumentals.

5. Our First Christmas 

Okay so I may be a bit biased here. Our First Christmas has some of the tropes I complained about near the beginning of this list but my wife and I started dating around Christmas (December 2012) so it's just a bit sentimental to me and ultimately we want songs to make us feel something so that's why it cracks the top 5.

4. December's Here

The last of the pre-released songs is here at #4. December's Here was released last year to advertise the then upcoming NFG Christmas livestream. Again nostalgia plays an import role in talking about watching Home Alone and Elf many times and reciting all the quotes to fully get into the holiday season.

3. Somber Christmas

This track was used to announce the album and they couldn't have picked a better song to do so. The duality handled in the lyrics is equal parts sad (a devastating break-up) and happy (looking back on happy memories) makes you feel all at once.

2. Don't Fight It's Christmas

Don't Fight It's Christmas has the best hooks on this album, likely because it's sonically the closest to a straight up pop song on the record and I simply can not get enough of it. 

1. Holiday Records

Vinyl is all the rage so it's natural to flip through your loved ones vinyl collection to pull out any Christmas records you can wear out to get yourself in the holiday mood. Holiday Records is easily the standout on this album thus far. You can expect to see it on this year "What's A Partridge? What's A Pear Tree?" compilation.

Special: Ranking New Found Glory's "New Found Glory"

By the time this blog goes live New Found Glory's Self-Titled album will have officially turned 20 years old on September 26, 2020. This wasn't the album I discovered them on as I like most my age found them on the Sticks & Stones cycle but this album quickly became not just my favourite NFG album but among my favourite albums of all time.

12. Vegas

I'm not sure why Vegas is at the bottom of the list. Maybe it's the lack of instrumentation that sets it apart from the middle of the pack tracks or the lack of lyrics especially the three line chorus that doesn't amount to much.

11. Black And Blue

I've said before I'm a fan of the double chorus and New Found Glory pulls it off here and it's also one of the punkier tracks on the album so it seems like a recipe for success right? Eh not really. The execution isn't as great as it could be.

10. Eyesore

New Found Glory has a history of doing ballads on their records, however on their major label debut this is as close as they get with this mid tempo banger of a track. What holds it back though is it's unoriginality in the chorus.

9. Second To Last

Second To Last is yet another bop that gets held back as a result of following Hit Or Miss in the tracklist especially given the similarities in the opening riff. So although it doesn't hold a candle to the hit track it's still worthy of a place on this great album in the middle section of this list.

8. All About Her

The math might not work out here but I'm considering this the end of the back half of the record. If this was a tier list that's how it would work out so I'm doing it here. All About Her is a catchy hook filled song that is below top tier but still pretty damn good.

7. Boy Crazy

"Some girls are crazy" preach NFG. This was one of the first songs I fell in love with from this album and although it's fallen to the bottom of this tier in years that passed mostly due to the juvenile lyrics and the soft opening.

6. Dressed To Kill

One of only two singles released from this album back in the days when single pushes took months instead of a days or weeks push we see now. Dressed To Kill is a solid tune that gets pushed down the list due to the many gems buried on this list which are all fan favourites to this day. 

5. Sucker

This chorus is so so good. Maybe even the best on this record. It's a bouncy fun tune about young romance which as a 31 year old... I can't relate to but it's fun to think back on which is how the band feels I'm sure playing this song 20 years after it was written.

4. Sincerely Me

Ah! From a song about young love to a song about young love breaking up. Sincerely Me is a letter to an ex-lover about the heartbreak of them leaving while still being angry enough to not name them and signing it with a sincerely me.

3. Ballad For The Lost Romantics

Truer words have never been spoken as the opening salvo of this closing track on the self-titled album. "I've grown sick, I've gotten older" screams 2020 even though it was penned in the year 2020. This is also sadly the only song from the top 7 on this list that I haven't seen live.

2. Hit Or Miss

As soon as the circus-like opening riff hits you know you're in for a good time. Hit Or Miss was NFG's breakthrough that got them a fan base, it's also a re-recorded version from their first album and this version nearly makes the original impossible to listen to in comparison.

1. Better Off Dead

This is a thrashy banger of a track with a thumping guitar and bombastic drums leading the song through the punchy verses and the high energy chorus to boot. Track one not only kicks off this album but it also is the best track on this album.