Yellowcard – Paper Walls

Yellowcard have always been a band searching hard for their true identity. Yes, they always maintained the same general persona: a pop-punk band with a bit or originality thanks to Sean Mackin’s violin melodies, but there’s always been a distinct change from record to record. Where We Stand, which doesn’t even feature current vocalist Ryan Key, was much more raw and in your face – everything was very distinct albeit clumsily thrown together and there was a certain Dude Ranch quality to it. With the arrival of Key came a more pronounced pop feel to their sound, but One for the Kids still had a slightly rawer feel to it; then came The Underdog EP which was the needed transition between the rougher One For The Kids to the much more polished and radio friendly pop-punk output that was Ocean Avenue. It was with this record that Yellowcard finally carved a gigantic niche for themselves and formed an identity to which they will always be compared to – but after that they went in and tried to change it all with Lights and Sounds – a decidedly darker and less sparkly album than ever before. While still good, it was drastically different than the Yellowcard that fans had grown to love and it was, by most accounts, a rather large flop. Quickly realizing that, the band entered the studio again to record their follow-up, Paper Walls, and just like The Underdog EP was the transition between One For The Kids and Ocean Avenue, Paper Walls is the transition between Ocean Avenue and Lights and Sounds – it’s just released out of order.

Paper Walls sees the band returning to their true form which makes it’s nothing new but much more organic than Lights and Sounds. The album fails to be as poppy and radio friendly as Ocean Avenue as it features a darker edge to it; but that tends to be a positive thing. It seems to be much more natural, Key’s vocals sound much more refined than ever before and the guitar work is quite impressive. The Takedown opens up the record with a driving drum beat from Longineu Parsons (something which is somewhat lacking in the record as it appears Parsons is holding back at times) but is supported by an interesting vibrating guitar riff throughout (and oddly enough, a guitar solo thrown in there too). Fighting has a energetic chorus reminiscent of Breathing while the first single, Light Up The Sky leaves the pop-punk flavor behind for a much edgier alt-rock track. Shadows and Regrets sees the band slowing it down a bit with the nice acoustic ballad and Key’s nostalgic vocals floating softy overtop before the rest of the band comes in to give the song a bit more of a backbone and Dear Bobbie is a piano led love song.

However, despite the improvements the band has made with their sound comparatively to Lights and Sounds there is one major blunder that hinders the album from becomeing great. As you listen to the record, you can’t help but notice the sound quality and production of the record as they seem to be trying to create a much louder, and therefore overlapping sound. There are certain sections which need to be much more clearer in the mix rather than thrown together for a louder sound. Lacking in volume most significantly is Sean Mackin’s violin which almost seem to be added as an afterthought to most songs since they are are placed softly in the background instead of taking the forefront like they did on the earlier releases. In fact, it is on Five Becomes Four – the clear highlight of the album – that Yellowcard finally lets everything become clearer. Parsons finally releases all his skill with a lightning fast drum beat that most skate punk bands from the mid-nineties would be proud to have as the core of their song and Mackin’s violin becomes the clearest it has been since Believe and transports the song to new heights.

This the record that the band needed to release before Lights and Sounds as it successfully creates a bridge between the two sounds and styles; while nothing you haven’t heard before, it is a strong record from the Floridians. They’re returned more to their Ocean Avenue era with a darker edge to it and yes, they’re still looking for a true identity and style to stick with, Paper Walls is another stepping stone in the right direction.