Dear Yellowcard,

For the next few minutes I would like to express my opinions on your second full-length album, Ocean Avenue. But before I do that, please note that before I saw your catchy, emo-driven song ”Ocean Avenue” playing on MTV, I never even heard of you guys; therefore, I cannot comment on your overall growth as musical artists. And to be honest with you, without seeing the "Ocean Avenue" music video, I would have easily confused y’all with other mainstream pop-punk bands such as Simple Plan and Sum 41. Sorry, but your sound (excluding one minor piece) is nothing new in the mainstream pop-punk world.

Not to say that I didn’t like Ocean Avenue, because after giving the album a few listens I’ve actually come to appreciate your sound, even if it is lacking originality. There is one minor thing, I’ll admit, that is different about your music though, and that’s the use of the violin. I’m sure you guys probably scared off a few potential fans by incorporating that classical instrument, but you managed to keep the violin pieces to a minimum, so no one should be too afraid. I personally had mixed feelings about this... On songs like "Breathing" the violin meshes with the blaring guitars and drums quite nicely, creating an almost "unsure" sort of atmosphere. On the other hand, the violin sounds a little too country/folk on "View from Heaven," and just seems out of place on "Believe."

Aside the guitar, I though the production on this album was pretty good. The opening track, ”Way Away,” screams Sum 41, with the loud, pop-punk guitars blaring during the choruses, intervened by the soft but fast-paced guitars and drums heard during the verses. Bass-ically (aren’t I funny?), I really liked the deep bass-lines on tracks such as ”Breathing” and ”Ocean Avenue.” I also liked how you chose to tone things down a bit with the melodic electric/acoustic ”Empty Apartment,” and the fully acoustic reminiscence on ”One Year, Six Months.” The only place on the entire album where I found a slight problem was on ”Only One”; I felt as if the production was drowning out the actual singing.

Moving on to vocals… Here is where things begin to fall flat. Vocally, I didn’t find you guys to be anything astounding, and be sure to call me up if someone else does. You guys (mainly Ryan Key) do, however, have the capability to show emotion through your voices, and you proved that with your latest single, ”Ocean Avenue.” Your emotion can also be found ”Only One,” ”Back Home,” and on both of the mellower tracks. Most of the other numbers sound (vocally) decent/okay, but it’s nothing you can’t find on the radio 24/7.

Now it seems to me as if most pop-punk bands are running out of ideas when it comes to lyrics. Love, heartbreak, and partying seem to be the typical subjects of any faux hard-rock band out there today, and I’m sorry to say that you guys fell into the trap. Some of the song titles pretty much give away the subject, take ”Miles Apart” for example. From the time saw the title I knew what it was gonna be about, and I was right - ”We’ll be miles apart / I’ll keep you deep inside / You’re always in my heart…” Hmmm... did anyone not see that coming?

I know it probably seems like it’s taking a long time to read this, but before I let you go, let me tell you some of my personal favorite and least favorite songs on Ocean Avenue. First of all, I will tell you that every song is listenable, but just like any album, some tracks are more enjoyable than others. Without a doubt, ”Ocean Avenue” is the best track on the album. ”Way Away” and ”Breathe” are pretty good as well, not to mention the goodness (even the vocals aren’t perfect) of ”Empty Apartment” and ”One Year, Six Months.” There are four songs I don’t particularly care for on your album, because either (a) they are derivative and overly generic, (b) the production really annoys me, or (c) it’s repetitive, annoying, and the production sucks. ”Miles Apart” and “Twentythree” fit under category (a), ”View from Heaven” falls under section (b), and ”Believe” belongs under category (c).

Overall, I thought Ocean Avenue was a decent pop-punk album. I liked how this album was catchy, both lyrically and musically, but next time you make an album, try something completely new and different that will separate you from your pop-punk counterparts. Music fans appreciate originality, but it seems as if most bands these days are playing it safe and predictable. Hopefully you will prove us all wrong with your next album.

Thanks for taking the time to read my letter.

Sincerely,

Grant / tkd_grant

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Additional Information and Track Listing:

Yellowcard consists of Ryan Key (vocals, guitar), Sean Mackin (violin, vocals), Benjamin Harper (guitar), and Longineu W. Parsons III (drums). They have also released two other “albums,” The Underdog (EP) and One for the Kids.

01. Way Away
02. Breathing
03. Ocean Avenue
04. Empty Apartment
05. Life of a Salesman
06. Only One
07. Miles Apart
08. Twenty Three
09. View from Heaven
10. Inside Out
11. Believe
12. One Year, Six Months
13. Back Home



Recommended: Yes