Since 2010,
New Found Glory
guitarist
Chad Gilbert
has found time to release five EPs and a smattering of singles with his retro-rock side project
What's Eating Gilbert
. With so much material already out there, it's hard to believe that 2015's Back to the Future-referencing LP
That New Sound You're Looking For
is actually the band's first full-length album.
Gilbert
's concept for the band is to meld classic '50s- and '60s-influenced rock with pop-punk energy and he achieves it, more or less, with a set of simple, hooky tunes that rarely last more than two-and-half-minutes. Sporting the visual aesthetic of a tattooed
Eddie Cochran
(vintage tuxedo, old hollow body Gibson, etc.), and aiming for some Marty McFly moxie, he cranks up the distortion to deliver peppy young-love throwbacks like "The Way She Loves Me," "Who Do You Love," and "Recurring Dreams." More than anything, though,
sounds like a fairly straightforward power pop album, with songs like the lead single "You're the Most" resembling a punkish
Del Amitri
more than
Buddy Holly
. That song, along with many others, features vocal contributions from backup singer
Kaitlyn DiBenedetto
(aka
Just Kait
), playing on both the pop-punk "he said/she said" trope as well as adding the occasional doo wop-style backing part. In all, it's a pleasant experiment that doesn't take itself too seriously. Even if the songs come across as a bit innocuous at times,
has a knack for fun, catchy melodies, and this record has those in spades. ~ Timothy Monger