In this day and time, when groups like Fall Out Boy and Green Day reign supreme, there’s no denying it: Generation Y is the era of the pop-punk band. Yellowcard once again follows in the prematurely worn footsteps of this revolution with its 2006 release, “Lights and Sounds.”
This time around, the Warped Tour veterans attempt to shake off their reputation as the standard emo pop troupe by venturing out of their established musical stomping grounds into the forbidden wastelands of melodic, classically-based rock. Lead vocalist and guitarist Ryan Key joined songwriting forces with bassist and guitarist Pete Mosely and moved to New York with the intention of shaking off his inhibitions and putting out a record that presents the band in a more raw and honest way than "Ocean Avenue."
In an interview on the band’s Web site, www.yellowcardrock.com, Key said that “This album is much more about what’s actually going on in my head. I needed to let go of a lot of stuff and force myself to drag some things out that I was afraid to write about.”
“Three Flights Up” is a beautiful, piano-driven instrumental introduction that slowly fades and works itself into “Lights and Sounds,” the record’s frenzied, fist-pumping first single about fame and being thrust into the limelight. The fifth track, “City of Devils,” is the listener’s out-and-out affirmation that the band went through some changes and matured drastically over a short two-year period. The Jacksonville, Fla. quintet trades in the artistic themes of young, unrequited love and teenage angst just in time to jump on the overdone president- and war-bashing bandwagon with track No. 7, a slow, bluesy song titled “Two Weeks from Twenty” that is an ode to a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq before he has the chance to finish out his teenage years. The track features distinctive trumpet solo from Printz Board of the Black Eyed Peas, and ultimately ends up sounding like it was pulled straight from an acoustic coffee house performance. The Dixie Chicks’ Natalie Maines harmonizes with Key in “How I Go,” an enchanting, floating ballad sung from the point of view of a dying father to his son.
For listeners expecting more of the same thing from Yellowcard, “Lights and Sounds” will be a letdown. While the energetic punk numbers are still there this second time around, the change and maturity of the band is exceedingly evident. Key’s intent is ideally realized through his offering of introspective, heart-on-sleeve lyrics encased in increasingly melodic rhythms.
Few rock ensembles would be able to incorporate classical instrumentation into their music without losing quality or credibility. Yellowcard’s ability to do just that on this album is beyond impressive. Sean Mackin’s violin prowess rounds out the band’s music extremely well, lending a unique sound to an otherwise beachy punk sound.
Stylistically speaking, this album skitters from one end of the musical spectrum to the other. While one song is weaving a web of intricate and deliberate melody, one is waiting to explode with heavy, fast beats and powerful vocals. “Lights and Sounds” makes the defiant statement that emo-pop-punk is here to stay - at least until the next big fad comes along.
