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New Found Glory’s Gentle Punk Scores

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SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Summer is over, but the bright and bouncy rock that blared from outdoor gatherings such as the Vans Warped Tour continues to heat things up. Thursday was a school night, but the sold-out crowd at the Hollywood Palladium for New Found Glory, Something Corporate and Finch (all Warped alumni) made it clear that the bratty brand of punk popularized by Blink-182, Sum 41 and the like is more popular than ever, especially with the under-21 set.

Headliner New Found Glory demonstrated why it’s risen to the top of the spunky heap, delivering harmonic, bubblegum nuggets about youthful tribulations.

Despite its name, there’s not much that’s really new about the Florida-bred, L.A.-based quartet. Like most bands of this ilk, the musicians need to pull their pants up (and in the case of bassist Ian Grushka, put a shirt on) and temper the wisecracks. But their tunes are solid and well-crafted, deftly balancing the kind of noisy mischievousness young male fans love with enough sugary themes and melodious vocals to please the girls. Indeed, the Palladium audience appeared to be mostly female, suggesting that while the gentler, more expressive approach to punk has nothing in common with the genre’s testosterone-fueled beginnings, it continues to have a wider appeal.

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New Found Glory, Something Corporate and Finch play Monday at the House of Blues Anaheim, 1530 S. Disneyland Drive, Anaheim, 7 p.m. Sold out. (714) 778-2583

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