Catalyst (New Found Glory album)

New Found Glory released their third album Sticks and Stones in June 2002 as a joint release between MCA and Drive-Thru Records. By December, the group were working on new songs, which vocalist Jordan Pundik said were "getting a lot heavier and even more aggressive". Between April and June 2003, they co-headlined the Honda Civic Tour with Good Charlotte. They had a practice room backstage that allowed them to work on new material. Around this time, MCA Records was absorbed by Universal Music Group subsidiary Geffen Records, which resulted in its staff and roster being moved to Geffen. Bassist Ian Grushka thought that the merger was a positive experience, as he said MCA was "kinda falling apart. Many people that worked for MCA were taking their job for granted and they were too comfortable...slacking off and not doing their job". before taking a week's break. After this, they started pre-production for their next album at the Hurley factory in Costa Mesa, California and the Swing House. The group moved into a house together in Malibu, California, and worked on material whenever they wanted to. It gave them more free time, compared to their past records, to develop their song ideas. ==Production==

After playing two shows, the band began recording their next album in September 2003. after the band tracked 18 songs in total. A variety of session musicians appear on the recordings: David Campbell (string arrangements and viola on "I Don't Wanna Know"), Joel Derouin (violin on "I Don't Wanna Know"), Charlie Bisharat (violin on "I Don't Wanna Know"), Larry Corbett (cello on "I Don't Wanna Know"), Riley Avron (backing vocals on "Your Biggest Mistake"), Debra Byrd (backing vocals on "Doubt Full"), Angela Fisher (backing vocals on "Doubt Full") and Tony Wilkins (backing vocals on "Doubt Full"). In addition, members of the group's contemporaries also appear: Freddy Cricien of Madball (backing vocals on "Your Biggest Mistake" and "At Least I'm Known for Something"), James Dewees of Reggie and the Full Effect (keyboards on "Failure's Not Flattering"), Andy Jackson of Hot Rod Circuit (backing vocals on "Over the Head, Below the Knees"), Toby Morse of H2O (backing vocals on "Over the Head, Below the Knees") and Hazen Street (backing vocals on "Over the Head, Below the Knees"). Tom Lord-Alge mixed the tracks at South Beach Studios, before they were mastered by Ted Jensen. ==Composition and lyrics==

When New Found Glory started out, they would write material they enjoyed and not overthink it. For their self-titled and Sticks and Stones albums, they focused more on what their fans would like. With Catalyst, they returned to the earlier method of writing whatever they enjoyed. Pundik said the band wanted to reinvent themselves musically with Catalyst. Grushka said Gilbert wrote 95% of the music on the album, while he contributed a bridge and a few lyrics and Klein wrote the majority of the lyrics. His vocals were compared to American Hi-Fi frontman Stacy Jones. "Intro" is a short 37-second long song, Gilbert came up with the riff to "All Downhill from Here" while driving. He was on his way to practice as he randomly started singing the riff in his head. He subsequently wrote the rest of the song on the day. He said it was about "any kind of relationship with someone goes sour and things go south from there." The song went under the working title "Belinda Carlisle" due to its 1980s sound. According to Gilbert, the track is about making mistakes, and also serves as a wake-up call for "a person to change. And if they don't, it's all gonna be messed up." "Ending in Tragedy" is a ballad about a guy trying to save a relationship, and is followed by hardcore punk track "At Least I'm Known for Something". "No News Is Good News" is influenced by new wave and discusses how the media can be obsessed on negative situations. The closing track "Who Am I" is followed on the CD by two hidden joke tracks. ==Release==

In January 2004, Gilbert played a handful of shows with his former band Shai Hulud. On February 18, 2004, Catalyst was announced for release in May. The track was released as a single on March 22, before being released to modern rock radio on April 6. On April 22, the "All Downhill from Here" music video was posted on Launch.com, and premiered on Total Request Live the following day. before being released on May 18 A music video was filmed for "Failure's Not Flattering" in late June with Avis directing again. For the outing, Dewees joined the group as a touring keyboardist. "Failure's Not Flattering" was released to radio on July 26. Later on, the band is shown asleep, before being sucked up by a vacuum cleaner. "Truth of My Youth" was released as a single on August 17. At the end of the month and the start of September, the group went on a brief European tour, which included performances at the Reading and Leeds Festivals. On October 25, a music video for "I Don't Wanna Know" premiered on Total Request Live. In December, the group went on an Australia tour with support from Reggie and the Full Effect, Righteous Jams, the Explosion and Hot Water Music. Following this, the band went on a headlining UK tour, which lasted until mid-February, with Hot Water Music and the Explosion. "I Don't Wanna Know" was released as a single on February 14. Between early March and late May, the band went on a headlining club tour, dubbed the Back to Basics Tour. They were supported by Reggie and the Full Effect and Eisley. ==Reception==

Critical response Entertainment Weekly writer Sean Richardson praised the band for adding tracks that range from "string-laden balladry (”I Don’t Wanna Know”) to surging hardcore (”At Least I’m Known for Something”)" alongside their pop punk repertoire, concluding that "They may have eyes for the Top 40, but these skater boys still know how to rock." Writing for the Chicago Tribune, Blair R. Fischer criticized Jordan Pundik's vocal performance for getting "more irritating with every song." It was later certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in August 2004. As of June 2005, the album has sold over 600,000 copies. The "All Downhill from Here" music video was nominated for Best Breakthrough Video at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards. In 2016, Gilbert ranked Catalyst as his second-to-least favorite New Found Glory album. Looking back, he said it "doesn’t really make any sense … Catalyst is all over the place [musically]." The group performed the album in its entirety on a tour in 2017 to celebrate the 20th anniversary since they formed. ==Track listing==

All songs written by New Found Glory. ==Personnel==

Personnel per booklet. New Found Glory • Jordan Pundik – lead vocals • Chad Gilbert – lead guitar • Steve Klein – rhythm guitar • Ian Grushka – bass guitar • Cyrus Bolooki – drums Additional musicians • Kendall Payne – backing vocals (track 5) • David Campbell – string arrangements, viola (track 5) • Joel Derouin – violin (track 5) • Charlie Bisharat – violin (track 5) • Larry Corbett – cello (track 5) • Freddy Cricien – backing vocals (tracks 6 and 11) • Riley Avron – backing vocals (track 6) • Debra Byrd – backing vocals (track 7) • Angela Fisher – backing vocals (track 7) • Tony Wilkins – backing vocals (track 7) • James Dewees – keyboards (track 8) • Andy Jackson – backing vocals (track 9) • Toby Morse – backing vocals (track 9) • Hazen Street – backing vocals (track 9) • Neal Avron – keyboards Production • Neal Avron – producer, recording • Tom Lord-Alge – mixing • Ted Jensen – mastering • Chris Wonzer – assistant engineer • Ryan Castle – assistant engineer, Pro Tools engineer • Femio Hernández – assistant engineer • Travis Huff – Pro Tools engineer • Gunnar – artwork, illustration • New Found Glory – artwork, art direction • JP Robinson – art direction • James Minchin III – photography ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications==