Review - Yellowcard - Southern Air

Yellowcard is one of my favorite pop punk bands, and I love me some pop punk. As you probably already know (I can’t remember what post[s] I’ve mentioned it in, but I feel like there have been at least a few), pop punk is the genre that started me down this road. I used to work in music (booking bands and the like), and I was always drawn to the pop rock and pop punk groups. I spent my days listening to the likes of Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, and Sum 41. Before all of them were popular, of course. I was way too cool for any of that business after Top 40 got them (or at least I pretended to be).

It is so much fun for me to be able to listen to albums that these artists are putting out today, knowing that they are the reason I’m reviewing anything in the first place. Yellowcard is certainly one of those groups. I was terribly excited for their comeback last year. The band took a few years off to do whatever, and then came back with ‘When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes’. I was nervous that they might have lost their touch – Yellowcard has always stood out amongst the pop punk masses. Sure you could say it is because they have a violin player (not just the typical guitar, guitar, bass, drum, singer combo), but there is definitely something else there. Something special.

Thankfully, ‘When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes’ was successful on every front. After that was secured, I wasn’t so worried about their new album only a year later – their eighth overall, ‘Southern Air’. If you are worried, don’t be. It is hard to say any Yellowcard album is their best, but this sure is up there. The music has improved to a level I didn’t really know pop punk could get to. How do you elevate a genre that was founded on being simple and fun? I can’t explain it, but the band did just that.

‘Southern Air’ is a pop punk album made by adults. A lot of the time you hear bands, they are in their 20’s, and that is perfect for the genre. Pop punk has always seemed like the kind of music you can do for ten years, and then you need to move on, bow out gracefully. Yellowcard prove on ‘Southern Air’ that this isn’t necessarily true, and that if you’ve got it, you’ve got it.

I just realized I spent this whole review babbling and not actually saying anything about the album. Well, it’s great, and I guess now you’re just going to have to go listen to it. And you can do just that right here.

(yes, that is the entire album)

Listen to: the single “Always Summer”, “Awakening” (for a taste of the harder and how they’ve grown), “Here I Am Alive” (my favorite track), and “Telescope”