Never Loved is a pop-punk band. The Florida quartet knows how to turn a sneering vocal hook and a parade of power chords into a thumping chorus. They're a perfect match for multi-platinum producer Matt Squire, and together, they know not to veer too far into studio tricks as to lose their edge. At least that's what we can tell from "Dead Inside," the first song the band has ever released, premiering today (Nov. 12) on Billboard.
When emo and pop-punk's influence over Top 40 was at its highest, Squire was a massive, behind-the-scenes link between the two worlds. Over the second half of the 2000s, the studio stalwart produced scene hits like Panic! At the Disco's "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" and Boys Like Girls' "The Great Escape," leading to collaborations with budding pop stars like One Direction, Selena Gomez, and Ariana Grande. Squire leans towards the rock end of the spectrum these days (his 2018 credits include Underoath's awesome comeback album), but "Dead Inside," his most recent project, calls back to those late '00s glory days.