Here are some of the things people have been saying about Yellowcard’s LIGHTS AND SOUNDS:

Yellowcard, a pop/punk band heavily influenced by Green Day, first attracted attention with 2003 album OCEAN AVENUE. This mainly consisted of the usual songs about girls and break-ups, whilst at the same time showcasing their unique brand of violin-based punk. LIGHTS AND SOUNDS, their follow-up, is a far more ambitious project. The songs are tougher, addressing themes such as war, Two Weeks from Twenty, disaffection with city life City of Devils, and death Holly Wood Died; and the sound is bigger, more accessible and more radio-friendly. In short, they have done what Green Day did on AMERICAN IDIOT. And like AMERICAN IDIOT it all works very nicely, with some very strong songs standing out: the driving rock of Lights and Sounds, the beautiful ballad How I Go featuring the lovely vocals of Dixie Chick Natalie Maines, and the scathing Two Weeks from Twenty. The violin is still very much in evidence, and although it does all sound a bit twee at times, Sean Mackin’s instrument does complement the sound nicely. Indeed, on How I Go it helps make the song. In all, this is an album that marks Yellowcard’s transition from a small pop/punk band into a mainstream rock act. By no means the best album ever made, but charming enough to sell

tomtedspeller - London, UK

I’m a huge Yellowcard fan and after digesting, listening, re-listening, playing, re-digesting, loving, going off, loving again, analysing and reanalysing OCEAN AVENUE I was eagerly awaiting the release of LIGHTS AND SOUND. However, it was always in my mind that they couldn’t top one of the greatest albums ever written (in my opinion anyway). Not to disappoint anyone too much, but its just not as 100% as I feel OCEAN AVENUE was for me, a comparison song by song shows that LIGHTS AND SOUNDS doesn’t have the depth that OCEAN AVENUE had when it went from Breathing to Belief and ending with Back Home. It is still and outstanding album, and recommended to anyone that enjoyed OCEAN AVENUE. Songs like Words, Hands, Hearts and How I Go are definitive Yellowcard brilliance. In my opinion it just got a little heavy at points that it didn’t need to, more songs like One Year 6 Months would have been appreciated. As I alluded to at the beginning, in my mind, it is suffering in the shadow of OCEAN AVENUE. Which isn’t helped by the similarities between the two (Belief - Two Weeks from Twenty, Life of a Salesman - How I Go). Once you take it into the wider context of music it not only holds its own, it is a great piece of music and well worth owning. Buy OCEAN AVENUE, and once you own that, buy LIGHTS AND SOUNDS.

J L Barrat - Manchester, UK

Yellowcard have been around for a while now and their last two albums have had the same sound although on this album the direction of the music changed including more string arrangements and such. Yellowcard have always been a bit different and unique because of the violin featured in all of the songs and their own violinist but on this record it is even more obvious and that’s not a bad thing. I wasn’t expecting this album to be anything like this as all the reviews weren’t exactly what I would call good and saying OCEAN AVENUE was much better, but seeing as I’m a big Yellowcard fan I bought the album and was quite surprised! There are many brilliant tracks on this album such as Lights and Sounds, Rough Landing Holly, Down On My Head, Sure Thing Falling, and all the other album tracks (although these ones listed are the best). They have a different sound to anything they have done before but they should explore with different sounds more often as this change was definitely for the better. By this I’m not saying I didn’t like OCEAN AVENUE as I do in fact prefer it, but as two of their albums had the same sound it was time for a change. Overall this album is great and one of the best I’ve heard in a long time.

lenham7 - hull, UK

Yellowcard’s sophomore album is a step forward in many ways from its chugging pop-rock debut. It boasts a bigger sound and broader lyrical waxing with ever chirpy harmony singing perfectly, complimenting the lightning romance between violin and guitar. The band are “searching for something that cannot be found” because this album covers mostly everything they can think of from Death Cab For Cutie-esq Two Weeks From Twenty to stadium filling Martin Sheen or JFK. This album is stuffed with anthems. Almost - dare I say it - too many. As a result you can get the feeling there isn’t a strong sense of progress through the 14 tracks and can desensitize the listener to the impact of great songs. Ultimately, don’t let the critics fool you. This isn’t a huge departure from their seminal work, but in almost totally ditching their characteristic sun soaked feel, Yellowcard set themselves a real challenge and have gladly met it, surpassing expectations and delivering an, if slightly wavering force of nature of an album with individuality and attitude to boot. Buy it.

Samlikesmusic - Jersey C.I

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The Shake View:

For sure, it’s easy to compare this album to other acts and to lump them in with Jimmy Eat World, Simple Plan, even Fightstar or Busted (Easy Tiger). The record is melodic guitar rock; it drives along at speed, stopping for gas along the way, which makes it a great album to have on in the car. I listened to it for a week solid driving to and from work, and it just got better and better. The immediate songs jump out of the box and grab you by the balls, but the others are growers, in fact some of the songs I liked straight out of the box are now lesser favourites… This is a record that takes time to get into for the band has taken a step to the left from their previous work, but they needed to. The sheer production values on this record are just perfect for the genre; it sounds so good when turned up loud. I love it, my kids love it, that should not happen but I’m glad it does. Melodic, thoughtful rock has a place in the modern world, and for me, this is one of the best albums not only in its genre, but in any format - modern rock, adult contemporary… The major thing that sets this band apart is that they can deliver the record in a live setting, which completes the triangle needed; great record, great video, great live…

I would tend to agree with the overall opinion that their previous album, OCEAN AVENUE, in many ways is better, but in just as many ways it’s inferior too. You really need to own both albums for they are two of the best records of the 21st century alternative scene, or whatever the fuck you want to call it. I just call it good!

5/5

Jj – Wales, UK