Review: Yellowcard - Ocean Avenue (Acoustic)

Ten years after Yellowcard’s album, “Ocean Avenue” came out, they have redone the entire album with only acoustic instruments.

Yellowcard fans adore the newest album, “Ocean Avenue Acoustic”, and they have the right to. I’m glad to say there isn’t a single bad song on either album, acoustic or original. Given some songs are better than others, but each song is unique and a worthwhile listen.

The acoustic album has stayed true to it’s original predecessor by not changing much at all, except for the replacement of all instruments to be acoustic. Though some may find this relieving, I feel that Yellowcard has missed an opportunity to do so much more with their music. Playing acoustic is an entirely different ball game. Each instrument sounds, feel, and plays differently than their electric counterpart. I felt there was little attempt to try and redo their original album with something different and more acoustic-appropriate, examples being: chugging palm-muted power chords, and fast drum fills. Both of these things sound great on the original tracks, but I feel there are better options when playing acoustically.

Still, it’s hard to ignore how genuine each song feels and how great they are to listen to. The songs themselves are well-written and they make you want to just blast the volume and sing along, whether you know the lyrics or not. Each song feels like a life lesson and I could easily see them bringing out huge emotions to many listeners. Did I mention they have a violin player in the band? Yeah, and he shreds on the violin, too. It’s no wonder the album is so highly praised by its fanbase.

Priced at $9.99, the album is definitely a good jam, and overall it’s really written phenomenally. Although I feel it’s a missed opportunity to be something more, it doesn’t overshadow the great quality of each song, and the album as a whole. I highly recommend it to any pop punk fans looking for something new.

9/10.

-Chris G     

Classic Bands and Why We Love Them: Yellowcard

We’re debuting a new feature this week; Classic Bands and Why We Love Them! Today’s feature comes from our new contributor, Morgan.

Yellowcard, a band started in 1997 in Jacksonville, Florida by the original members, Ben Dobson, Todd Clary, Sean Mackin, Ben Harper, and Longineu W. Parsons III.  The band started off as a hardcore punk band, and then later on in 2000 when Ben Dobson quit, Ben Harper asked Ryan Key who is still a member of Yellowcard was asked  to join. When Ryan Key joined the band genre changed drastically and formed into a pop punk/rock band. Ever since Ryan Key has joined Yellowcard has built a fanbase from all over the world. After going through various amounts of bassists, and guitarist Yellowcard now has a final line up which Ryan Mendez joined the band in 2005, and Josh Portman joined this year. I feel like this is and will be the future and solid line up for Yellowcard.

After four records with Ryan Key, in 2008 they went on an indefinite hiatus for 2 years and came back stronger than ever when they joined the indie label, Hopeless Records,  and then recorded an album released in 2011 called, When You’re Through Thinking Say Yes. In a little over a year they wrote and recorded an album called Southern Air which happens to the best Yellowcard record yet. Yellowcard is my favorite band because of the power in the music they have created for so long, and the heart and soul they give into when they write the music. Each member has something unique about their music abilities and I feel like that’s what influences me the most about the band. In the record, Southern Air, has the catchiest riffs and vocal patterns I have ever heard in my entire life; they definitely know how to catch the listener’s attention.

After going on a hiatus and then writing two successful records in the span of a little over a year blows my mind right out of the water, and I feel like that is the main reason why Yellowcard is and will always be my favorite band. This band has been through blood, sweat, and tears through their comeback and they deserve every amazing thing that happens to them.

Yellowcard announce "Southern Air"

1. Awakening
2. Surface Of The Sun
3. Always Summer
4. Here I Am Alive
5. Sleep In The Snow
6. A Vicious Kind
7. Telescope
8. Rivertown Blues
9. Ten
10. Southern Air

Track 4: Additional Vocals by Tay Jardine (of We Are The In Crowd)
Track 7: Additional Vocals by Alex Gaskarth (of All Time Low), Tay Jardine (of We Are The In Crowd) and Cassadee Pope

“When YELLOWCARD decided to take a break in 2008, I had never felt so uncertain about my future,” recalls vocalist/guitarist Ryan Key, about the story behind the title of their new album, Southern Air. “I decided the best thing for me to do was leave Los Angeles and relocate to the East Coast to be closer to my family. I landed in a small college town in Northeast Georgia called Athens. It was such a crucial and developmental chapter in my life for which I will be forever grateful.” Soon after the band commences their mainstage duties on the 2012 Vans Warped Tour, Southern Air will be released via Hopeless Records on August 14, 2012.

“I learned so much about the future I thought I was so uncertain about,” he explains in reference to the previous album, When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes (WYTTSY). “I saw more clearly the things that really mattered, and really moved me. With a renewed energy and passion for music we reentered the studio to begin working on my fifth full length record with Yellowcard. The band was firing on all cylinders and the music was reflecting that energy in every way. WYTTSY was, in a way, our return to ourselves.

“After touring 30 plus countries in nine months in support of WYTTSY, we decided to take the momentum we had and start writing songs again at the start of 2012,” he continues. “Personally I think getting back on the road and in a way realizing my dreams a second time, coupled with looking back two years later on my time back East, was all the fuel I needed to write what has become known as, Southern Air.“

Once again featuring the crisp production of longtime producer Neal Avron, Southern Air is the sound of band who has not only returned to form but is expanding and growing in confidence with the help and support of the people who welcomed them with open arms – the fans. The propulsive and immediate opening track “Awakening” reveals a fiercely confident and assured band, one that now stands on firm ground after the resounding success of their previous album. “This record has such an overwhelming sense of self awareness and positive energy that I credit completely to my ability to reconnect with my Southern roots,” Ryan explains. “The title, along with much of the lyrical content, takes me to Georgia State Highway 316, or A1A through Neptune Beach, FL, where I am driving with the windows down belting the words along to my favorite songs. I feel like a lot of the album is saying thank you to my family, friends, and fans, for supporting us all of these years.”

From the rhythmic attack of “Surface of the Sun” to the rousing anthem “Here I Am Alive” to the ballad “Telescope” (which serves as a memorial to Ryan’s Aunt Stephanie who passed away last year) to the epic album closing title track, Southern Air is the sound of a band who has found the voice and energy that fueled their fire from the beginning. “There is a sense of passion for these songs that we all share like never before,” Ryan concludes. “Each of us poured our hearts into this one entirely. The result is ten songs that we hope continue to inspire people around the globe as we all continue on this amazing journey together. Everyone needs to breathe some Southern Air from time to time.”