Legendary alternative rockers Yellowcard have been making music for almost 20 years now, and have always been easy to identify with their inclusion of violinist Sean Mackin, who brings an incredible melodic element to their music. With their ninth studio album Lift A Sail being released next month, it’s safe to say that Yellowcard have no intention of stopping any time soon.
The epic, 13-track record is almost overdue, with the band’s last original record Southern Air being released back in 2012. While 2013 saw the release of an acoustic version of Ocean Avenue, which dropped as part of a 10 year anniversary celebration, but Yellowcard fans were definitely hungry for new material and so this year’s announcement of the October 7 release was surely pleasing.
Listeners are given a brief, instrumental introduction with ‘Convocation’ that’s very heavy on the violin, then the Yellowcard that we all know and love comes to attention with the next track, ‘Transmission Home’ that was released as a single earlier this week. Fans who are worried this album will show a little too much change really don’t have to worry, because despite the label change from Hopeless Records to Razor & Tie, and the presence of guest drummer Nate Young (of Anberlin), the Florida quartet still know how to impress the masses.
It’s pretty obvious why the already released ‘One Bedroom’ and ‘Make Me So’ are the lead singles as they are the strongest tracks on the record, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the material is weak – far from it, in fact. There’s stunning gems like ‘Illuminate’, which takes a bit of a heavier approach, somewhat reminiscent of the band’s fifth album Lights And Sounds, their last in the genre of pop punk before they began taking a more alt rock approach.
In contrast, there’s the gentle acoustic offering ‘Madrid’ which is almost expected as Yellowcard have loved laying down softer tracks in the past such as ‘Sing For Me’. This one really gives you a chance to become absorbed in the lyrics, and it’s evident how much they’ve improved since their beginning in 1997.
By ‘MSK’, it’s clear that this record isn’t one where you’ll be hearing fast-paced, in-your-face songs, but simply to appreciate Yellowcard’s songwriting and instrumental abilities. It’s the same old Yellowcard but it’s like they’ve almost levelled up, and this is a brand new generation of their musical direction. The record finishes off with ‘California’, another slow, piano-leading song that rounds off the album with brilliant finesse. Lift A Sail is full of song structures that are unique to the band, and there’s no doubt that if being played this blindly, you’d be able to name them on the spot.
