Crash Thursday: Yellowcard - When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes

Genre: Pop Punk/Alternative

Origin: Jacksonville, Florida, gained notoriety in Los Angeles, California

Say what you want about pop punk. Say that it's just whiny 20-somethings unable to let their high school days go. Say that it's repetitive and amateur. Say that it's nothing more than a hairstyle and a pair of extremely tight jeans. But then step back and take a listen to Yellowcard's latest LP, released this past Tuesday (3/22). From the opening track who's ominous first note crawls along until an abrupt explosion of up-tempo double-bass pedal and soaring lead guitar riff set the tone for the rest of the album, it is clear that this is Yellowcard's most ambitious work to date, and some of pop punk's most ambitious as well. When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes, is the album that proves all of the aforementioned assumptions wrong.

Yellowcard's latest is the first since returning to the indie label world (their three previous records were released by Capitol); it also marks the end of their two-year hiatus taken after touring for 2007's Paper Walls. The album shares some similarities with Walls from a production standpoint. Each song begins to cross the boundary into wall-of-sound territory, especially on album-closer, "Be the Young." Personally, I'm partial to this dominating rock-will-destroy-you-and/or-save-you sensibility and it's one of the things that makes this album so different from the vast majority of the pop punk world.

Lead-singer, Ryan Key, pushes himself harder melodically than he ever has, his vocals full of exertion and emotional honesty that just isn't felt like this in the band's previous work. Yellowcard has also accomplished something on this album that is very significant for them: for the first time in their music, the addition of violin as a main staple in their line-up has transcended gimmick. Violinist and backup-vocalist, Sean Mackin, is a thoroughly talented musician. However, before the release of ...Say Yes, his additions always seemed superfluous and put up on a pedestal to keep the songs interesting and novel. I'm happy to report that on this latest release, Mackin's contribution has finally, truly hit its stride. Each song is beautiful on its own and his string backing harmonies are that perfect icing on the cake to complete the full sound that this album delivers.

4/5

Yellowcard - "The Sound of You and Me"

Yellowcard - "Be the Young"

When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes is available on Hopeless Records.

-JB