Yellowcard - Lights andSounds

Mon 27th Feb, 2006 in Music Reviews

It was an interesting sidenote that Lights and Sounds, the second album from Floridian pop-punk types Yellowcard, fell into my hands the morning before the acclaimed documentary Punk Attitude aired on SBS. Truth be told, when compared to the antics of acts like The Stooges, Suicide or the Sex Pistols, Yellowcard look and sound about as dangerous as an afternoon out with your grandmother. But that is not what’s important here – after all, it is all about the music, and while it’s hardly earth-shattering stuff, Yellowcard do a lot right with this album.

Not as grandstanding as Green Day, nowhere near as sickeningly self-loathing as someone like The Used, and with just enough experimentation to keep things interesting Lights and Sounds will be lapped up by fans of acts like Blink 182 and Pennywise (not to mention those listed above). Sonically those acts are as good a touchstone as any, the title track and lead single is as catchy a rock song as you’re likely to hear this year. 

The lads spice things up with Two Weeks from Twenty, a ballad about the war in Iraq with Brian Wilson-esque instrumentation and vocals that sound eerily like Ben Folds. While the lyrics are a little unaccomplished, it’s difficult to disagree with the sentiment or indeed the will to change things around just a little. There are less of the violins that set the band apart from other similar acts in the past but the grandeur remains in the instrumental opener and tracks like power ballad City of Devils and How I Go, an ode to an unborn son backed by acoustic guitars and more strings than a John Williams score.

All in all, you know what you’re going to get with this album.  But with an Australian tour imminent, Yellowcard could be a band you hear a lot more about in 2006.