Yellowcard
growns up with ‘Lights and Sounds’
By Brigid McGuire
Online Forty-Niner
Diversions Editor
The new Yellowcard album “Lights and Sounds” delivers a new mature
rock ‘n’ roll sound, with the same pop punk violin melodies. “Lights” proves
the emo-punk group has grown up, but has not lost its roots for up-beat hits.
The title track, “Lights and Sounds,” begins with heavy metal riffs
and blends violin harmonics perfectly to create a new rock sound. The lead singer,
Ryan Key, gives a dramatic eulogy to a relationship gone badly and how people
appear to lose their way afterward.
The next track, “Down on my Head” is an in-depth look into Key’s
mind as he worries about growing up and changing. The band was looking to steer
away from songs about teenage heart breaks and summer vacation and give their
songs a deeper meaning.
The third track, “Sure Things Falling,” opens with heavy guitar riffs
and an upbeat tempo. It is about a comic book-loving boy and his girlfriend just
broke up with him. Keys expresses how nothing is concrete and change will always
test people and their relationships.
“
City of Devils” is a slow ballad of loneliness and confusion. Violin and
cello harmonies blend into a perfect union of musical emotion. The band’s
new musical talents are showcased in this song and you can really see how much
they have matured.
The second single, “Rough Landing, Holly” is a love tribute to a
girl who is controlling a boy’s thoughts. With lyrics like, “She
moves fast, takes control and like a heart attack I know I can’t turn back,” anyone
who has “puppy love” can relate.
“
Two weeks from Twenty” is another slow melody about a boy joining the U.S.
Army and going to war. The subject, Jimmy, is stuck in a small town and wishes
to escape from all of the boredom, so he joins the service. The song makes references
to soldiers dying in a far-off place, but back at home all of the mothers are
proud of their sons leaving. There is a vivid anti-war message
with lyrics like, “And then you hear ’em say, that miles away, we
lost another one that we sent with a gun.”
The record flows with emo-rock riffs and classical music solos. Songs like “Grey” and “Space
Travel” tell of moving on and changing. The first few years out of high
school are tough for many people and this entire album speaks to that 20-something
age group.
There is no bubble-gum pop found on this record, but then again Yellowcard is
not the same band anymore. They have grown up, priorities changed and high school
is over for good. Life continues after the chaos of hormones and teenage heartache.
For Yellowcard that transition was smooth and complete.
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