"It's Not Your Fault" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

New Found Glory New Found Glory (formerly A New Found Glory) is an American rock band from Coral Springs, Florida, formed in 1997. The band currently consists of Jordan Pundik (lead vocals), Ian Grushka (bass guitar), Chad Gilbert (lead guitar, backing vocal ...

, serving as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from their fifth studio album '' Coming Home'' (2006). The track was first announced in July 2006, before the

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

debuted on ''

TRL TRL or trl may refer to: Arts * Temporary Residence Limited, a record label * ''Total Request Live'', a former MTV show * TRL Awards (''Total Request Live''), an Italian music award Libraries * Tampines Regional Library, a regional library in Ta ...

'' on 1 August. "It's Not Your Fault" was released to radio on July 25, 2006. The song was later released to Modern Rock Radio in September, shortly before the album was released. The single marked a musical departure for the band and was seen by critics as a step away from their usual

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

sound, with the addition of prominent

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

instrumentation.

Composition

"It's Not Your Fault" is a

rock song Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as "rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States and ...

at a length of three minutes and thirty seven seconds, written by the five members of New Found Glory, all of whom share credits for the music composition and the lyrics. The song is composed in the

A Major A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...

key and has a "moderate tempo" of 129

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

. The band's primary

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and guitarist

Chad Gilbert Chad Everett Gilbert (born March 9, 1981) is an American musician and record producer. He is best known as a founding member of the rock band New Found Glory, for whom he plays lead guitar, sings backing vocals, and composes music. He was also ...

, notes that the song has "big, full

guitars The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

and a

line that goes throughout. It's pretty anthemic, and Jordan's voice has never sounded better." Gilbert further explained that, "This one shows how we've changed. We're a band who have done different styles of songs every record. There's some really

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

riffs on ''Catalyst'' that aren't on ''Coming Home'', and then this had some pianos. We're music fans, so we want every record to sound different". Lyrically, the song is about dealing with time apart in a relationship. The band's

lead vocalist The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

Jordan Pundik has noted, "I want people to think it's about whatever they want, but for me, it's about when you're in love with someone and you're away from them and you have an argument or a fight and it's over the phone, so you can't console them."

Critical reception

As with ''Coming Home'', "It's Not Your Fault" was warmly received by

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

. In a review for ''

The Palm Beach Post ''The Palm Beach Post'' is an American daily newspaper serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and parts of the Treasure Coast. On March 18, 2018, in a deal worth US$42.35 million, ''The Palm Beach Post'' and ''The Palm Beach Daily News'' we ...

'' it was noted that, "''Coming Home'' is similar, in spirit, to the 1990s crooning of Chicago's brilliant

Smoking Popes Smoking Popes is an American pop punk band from the northwest suburbs of Chicago. They are composed of brothers Matt Caterer (bass), Josh Caterer (lead vocals/guitar) and Eli Caterer (guitar/backing vocals) and Mike Felumlee (drums). History ...

. Jordan Pundik's vocal delivery curls into sweetness, rather than a snarl. Wrapped around journal-entry cute lines on the earnestly protective pleadings of "It's Not Your Fault." Rae Alexandra of ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'' magazine, was of the opinion that "It's Not Your Fault" displays "more maturity - and piano - than ever before. It's not fast, it's not forced, but - in an entirely new way - it sours." Jack Foley of ''Indie London'' was also favorable of the track and noted "the chiming piano chords that open "It’s Not Your Fault" give way into an effortlessly inspiring song about young love that unfolds into a majestic chorus."

Music video

The

for the single was shot by long term

music video director A music video director is the head of music video production. The director conceives of videos' artistic and dramatic aspects while instructing the musical act, technical crew, actors, models, and dancers. They may or may not be in collaboration ...

Brett Simon Brett Simon (born November 28, 1973 in Palo Alto, California) is an American commercial, music video and film director. Career Simon graduated from Princeton University ''summa cum laude'' in 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Comparative L ...

(

Sugarcult Sugarcult is an American rock band from Santa Barbara, California formed in 1999. The band currently consists of Tim Pagnotta (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Airin Older (bass guitar, backing vocals), Marko DeSantis (lead guitar), and Kenny Living ...

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line- ...

The Killers The Killers are an American rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingd ...

). The video depicts the band performing the song live on several occasions (see screenshot), in between a story being revealed in reverse chronological order. The story portrays a man and woman (played by Teddy Van Deusen and Heide Lindgren from the American reality show ''

8th & Ocean ''8th & Ocean'' is an American reality series about a group of models living in Miami, Florida that premiered on MTV on March 7, 2006. The series aired for ten episodes, ending its run on May 9, 2006. The creators of ''8th & Ocean'' are also respo ...

''), who wake up in bed naked together, and proceed to retrace their steps and retain their several items of clothing along the way. At the climax of the video, they end up where they first met in a

record store A record shop or record store is a retail outlet that sells recorded music. In the late 19th century and the early 20th century, record shops only sold gramophone records, but over the 20th century, record shops sold the new formats that were ...

and go their separate ways. The concept itself was inspired by a German

mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...

commercial. The video idea came from the Axe/Lynx 24-7 spot, "Because you never know when (Getting Dressed)", that won "Gold Lion Cannes 2004" award. Chad Gilbert told ''

'' magazine that, "It starts backwards, with a guy and a girl in bed naked, and then they put on their clothes, finding them strewn as they walk, until they get to their first meeting at the end. We just took the idea and went with it." The shoot was completed in one afternoon.

Track listing

All songs written, composed and performed by

Personnel

;Single *

Jordan Pundik Jordan Izaak Pundik (born October 12, 1979) is an American musician and songwriter. He is a founding member and the frontman of Floridian rock music, rock band New Found Glory, for whom he sings lead vocals and contributes lyrics. He was also the ...

—

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...

—

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

, lyrics * Steve Klein —

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

, lyrics * Ian Grushka —

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

* Cyrus Bolooki —

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

Benmont Tench Benjamin Montmorency "Benmont" Tench III (born September 7, 1953) is an American musician and singer, and a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Early years Tench was born in Gainesville, Florida, the second child of Benjamin ...

—

Thom Panunzio Thom Panunzio is a music producer and engineer. His career began in 1974 at the Record Plant Studios NYC, working with John Lennon. Later, he became a staff engineer at the Record Plant, and later at The Hit Factory. Panunzio worked often with ...

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

Paul Miner Paul Miner (born December 4, 1976) is the bassist for Death by Stereo, who left the band early 2005 (right before the band's fourth album '' Death for Life''), to produce, engineer, master, and mix music full-time. Previously he produced and engin ...

—

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

Tom Lord-Alge Tom Lord-Alge (born January 17, 1963) is an American music engineer and mixer. He began his career at The Hit Factory in New York. Subsequently, he was the resident mixer at what used to be known as "South Beach Studios", located on the ground f ...

— mixing *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography Ted ...

— mastering *

Autumn de Wilde Autumn de Wilde (born October 21, 1970) is an American photographer and film director best known for her portraiture and commercial work photography of musicians, as well as her music video works. In 2020 she directed her first feature film, '' E ...

—

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

;Video * Jordan Pundik — himself, band member * Chad Gilbert — himself, band member * Steve Klein — himself, band member * Ian Grushka — himself, band member * Cyrus Bolooki — himself, band member * Teddy Van Deusen — boy * Heide Lindgren — girl *

—

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

References

{{authority control 2006 singles New Found Glory songs Songs written by Jordan Pundik Songs written by Chad Gilbert Songs written by Steve Klein (musician) Songs written by Ian Grushka Songs written by Cyrus Bolooki Music videos directed by Brett Simon Song recordings produced by Chad Gilbert 2006 songs Geffen Records singles