Yellowcard Album: “Lights and Sounds”

Being a fan of the punk-pop scene, there are a ton of bands competing just to get mainstream and commercial success. Yellowcard entered the punk-pop scene when it was already saturated with many other established, commercial acts. Green Day, Blink-182, Simple Plan (by the time their OCEAN AVENUE album became popular), Good Charlotte, among others. Many chided Yellowcard while others applauded. Having not been an avid follower of Yellowcard, I expected just another pop-punk band looking for the mainstream success of Better, more established bands. Despite any odds that Yellowcard has had as a band, LIGHTS AND SOUNDS shows that the band has overcame those odds to make a truly credible rock album.

LIGHTS AND SOUNDS instantly grabs your attention because it starts with an instrumental track called "Three Flights Up". "Three Flights Up" features nice melodic piano lines which sound like "lights and sounds" coincidentally. It provides a nice atmosphere for the album to begin. In fact, the instrumental introduction is reminiscent on Coldplay's sound as well as the introduction on Coheed and Cambria's latest album where lush strings are used very effectively.

The momentum from the opening track continues on into the second track, "Lights And Sounds" which has a very punk feel. The biggest drawback to the song is that you feel that it is just a good punk song and not a very innovative one. The first song "Lights And Sounds" also showcases the major advantages of the entire album and that is the hooky nature of the album. There is always a hook that grasps the audience even if the songwriting grows dull (as it does on tracks "Sure Thing Falling", "Martin Sheen or JFK", and "Words, Hands, Hearts").

Other notable tracks from the album (there are more notable one than non-notable ones) are "City of Devils", "Rough Landing, Holly", "Two Weeks From Twenty", "Waiting Game", and "Space Travel". "City of Devils" shows some of the most mature writing of the album with very nice string arrangements supporting the guitars and etc... "Two Weeks From Twenty" uses very non-standard writing that makes this song very distinct from any others that Yellowcard has done. Other songs on LIGHTS AND SOUNDS such as "Down On My Head", "Grey", "How I Go", and "Holly Wood Died" aren't particular stand outs, but they aren't terrible either. They are average at the most.

Reading many reviews of this particular album, I am inclined to agree with what the reviews have stated as the score. This album is above average, yet it isn't quite an exceptional album say the likes of AMERICAN IDIOT by Green Day, BLINK-182 by Blink-182, or etc... 3.5 stars for a very good album by Yellowcard.

All bands have to do some experimentation when they hit the big time like Yellowcard did with Ocean Avenue. They have to find a way to a "mature" (the common term) sound, i.e. they have to find what it is about their music that people like and hold on to it, while finding what imperfections turn those would-be listeners away and cleansing them.

It's hard to do... a lot of bands lose their strength with efforts after their debut because they try too hard (or not hard enough) and end up sounding like... well, everything else. Sometimes a sophomore effort just doesn't go well and a band comes back strong with a third release that just makes everyone happy... But such growth takes real talent.

And I sincerely hope Yellowcard can do that with their next release, because there's something wrong with "Lights and Sounds."

Yes, there is a new quality to their sound, and it does sound good... they've gotten heavier. If not a good song, at least the title track is almost entirely pulse-pounding, hard-hitting rockout. With the exception of the more acoustic tracks, this heavier guitar persists through the album and it can be safely said that this is "Lights and Sounds"'s signature improvement.

That being said...

What happened to the violin, guys?

Yea, you hear it... but it's a lot less prominent than in the previous release, and it's what made Ocean Avenue a great album. It's what set the band apart from all the rest. The title track has no noticeable violin at all, and many of the songs only use what *was* Yellowcard's signature instrument as harmony during some of the bridges and verses, rather than as an accompaniment throughout the entire song. There are several tracks where you're sitting there just wondering where it went.

As for specific tracks, I think it's unwise to post a review of all the tracks right off the bat... all albums take time before you can truly even try to appreciate every song for what they are. Therefore, here are the songs that immediately stood out to me, for better or for worse:

2. Lights and Sounds - Like I said, this is a very heavy song and will be a decent concert opener for the band. There's nothing terribly special about the lyrics or the harmonies of the song in general, but crank it up in your car and you'll suddenly find you want to hear it over and over again. It's the high energy of the song that gives it its strength. It has a beautiful and moving symphonic introduction called Three Flights Up, as well.

7. Two Weeks From Twenty - Stop it, Yellowcard. Please. Listening to this song made me as upset with you as I was when I heard you were playing "Believe" as a political protest. "Believe" is a tribute to the bravest among our countrymen, not a political statement. Just as "Believe" has no place being played in such a way, "Two Weeks From Twenty" has no place being written. You have a right to your political opinions, but last time I checked, people listen to music to get away from the world. The song itself isn't bad... it has a good groove, but the lyrics RUIN it.

8. Waiting Game - This is a perfect track to exemplify what happened with this album: A band possessing the components of a great sound, but unaware of what to do with them. This song has an INCREDIBLE introduction with symphonic violins backing up heavy guitar, creating a sound that honestly makes you think this song might just top Ocean Avenue's best. Then, to put it simply, Ryan Key comes in with a chorus that is almost completely off track from what the opening, the first verse too, and even the BUILDUP to the chorus were setting up for. We only get to hear the intro again at the end of a bridge, but the beginning of the same bridge is an even more atrocious deviation from the beautiful sound of the intro than the chorus. This could have been a truly great song, and could have changed the entire album for Yellowcard. But the only thing great about it is the moment of bliss that is the opening... it's all downhill from there. I don't see how they let this one get away from them.

13. How I Go - This song is actually a touching, beautiful death lament from father to son... and of the band's few slower attempts on the album, this is clearly the best.... and is that Natalie Maines I hear? I'm actually surprised as how well her voice does with Ryan Key's. It's that simple... a great track, and my hat's off to the band for this one. Beautiful instrumentation, vocals, and lyrics.

14. Holly Wood Died - THIS track is the one that made me believe that Yellowcard can stay in the game if they treat their next album right. Ocean Avenue's "Way Away" was one of the most addictive songs I've ever listened to, and this song certainly compares without overly emulating its cousin. The violin is there, the classic Yellowcard harmony is there, and the song is full of positive, encouraging energy.

That said, I would not mind a track like Holly Wood Died with the heavier guitar featured on the rest of the album (such as in "Lights and Sounds") as long as the violin remained unchanged. It is such a combination that's best for Yellowcard in the future, and it might just sound good. It's up to them to work that out, if that's what they want.

All that scares me is the album preview on Yellowcard's website had them saying they were really proud of this album and this is the way they want their band to sound...

I hope that was just pep talk, because for all the greatness of the band's new sound, they've still got some work to do getting back what they've lost with "Lights and Sounds."

I think it's pretty safe to say that Yellowcard has come a long way since their Midget Tossing record in 1997. Of course, they've had a new singer since then. They first got on the radio with Ocean Avenue. And now, LIGHTS AND SOUNDS! A KICK-A** ALBUM THAT DOES NOT DISSAPOINT!! I'm not sure if it will do as well as Ocean Avenue, but it's awesome anyway. Bottom line, if you liked the song Ocean Avenue, you'll want to buy Lights and Sounds. TAKE IT FROM SOMEONE WHO HAS LIKED YELLOWCARD SINCE 1999!!

I fall into a very large group of people that hadn't heard anything by Yellowcard until the faithful day "Ocean Avenue" hit the radio waves. At the time, I took Yellowcard to be a catchy pop-rock band with a violin twist, because that's what composed their breakout release and skyrocketed them to the fame that they momentarily posessed. So now, more than two years later, when it's time to get anticipated for the follow-up CD, I find myself very disappointed. To put it simply, Yellowcard never really was a catchy pop-rock band with a violin twist, they were a very soft melodic soft-rock band with a violin that happened to try something different on "Ocean Avenue" Needless to say, "Lights and Sounds" retrogresses to the old Yellowcard that nobody ever heard of/cared for.

The Good: There are still some catchy moments on the CD and some... I don't wanna say hard, but "less soft" songs, like the promising single "Lights and Sounds" and "Rough Landing Holly" The rest of the CD is composed of much softer and peaceful sounding songs, and some of them are actually quite interesting. I was surprised to find that my favorite song wasn't the full force charging rock beats, but the quiet and easing tunes of "Down on my Head." "Two Weeks from Twenty" is another highlight track, which speaks out against the war in Iraq in a "I'm not gonna get angry and yell but you're kinda wrong" way.

The bad: Boring boring boring... the CD, with the exception of the four tracks I've mentioned and MAYBE "Sure Thing Falling," failed miserably to keep my attention like the more upbeat previous works. There are no catchy guitar beats like there were on songs like "Breathing," "Miles Apart," and "Life of a Salesman" on the "Ocean Avenue" CD. Further investigation into this band made me realize that their first album, "One for the Kids," sounds very similar to this new one.

Overall, my opinion now is that "Ocean Avenue" was a fluke, and if Yellowcard is capable of putting out another catchy pop-rock album like it, which I highly doubt, they're not going to because they're too stuck on their former style. My recomendation is that Yellowcard be one of those bands where you only own one of their albums because it is likely the only good album they have or ever will put out. (Incubus and "Make Yourself" is another great example of this sort of thing)

1. Three Flights Up- intro track with some ochestra

2. Lights and Sounds- Their first single and a song that everyone should enjoy

3. Down on My Head- I REALLY LIKE THIS ONE, the melody is awesome and has a catchy chorus

4. Sure Thing Falling- Good vocals

5. City of Devils- starts out acoustic but then near the middle begins to change into a rock song..pretty good song overall

6. Rough Landing, Holly- im guessing this will be the next single

7. Two Weeks from Twenty- MY FAVORITE, it shows how much yellowcard has really matured since OA, some ppl might not like it though because it talks about politics and create some contreversy

8. Waiting Game- I love the beginning its a really good song that i cant get out of my head

9. Martin Sheen or JFK- Great guitar work on this one!

10. Space Travel- a pretty good song, thats slow then fast

11. Grey- a really good song thats really up-beat I really like it

12. Words, Hands, Hearts- I would say this is just average not my favorite but its not bad I like how the drums stand out

13. How I Go- A really good acoustic song! Guest singer Natalie Maines, sings in and sounds really good with Ryan

14. Holly Wood Died- Nice solo, and an all around good song, good lyrics too.