aaamusic | On 26, Mar 2011

Oh Yellowcard how I’ve missed you! “When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes” has been a long time coming but trust me when I say that it has been well worth the wait. This release marks the band’s return in emphatic style managing to echo their past work at the same time as sounding remarkably fresh.

When Yellowcard first burst onto the scene they were chastised for the use of a violin within a genre that tends to tie itself to a fairly tight set of constraints, however, the use of strings has always been one of my favourite things about the band. On “When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes” the use is arguably heavier than at any point throughout the band’s discography and it manages to add vigour to the otherwise fairly generic riffs.

There is not a bad song on the album; each track screams single as the band manage to rework a genre to increase appeal to a progressively commercial audience. That said, “Hang You Up” is without question my favourite track because it fully showcases the band’s new found maturity. Key’s vocals have a new found authority that alternate between weary story teller and that of a speaker still entirely involved with the narrative content of the song. The violin is used incredibly sparingly to the extent that it is almost unnoticeable as it contributes to the emotive landscape that the band has produced.

The vistas throughout the album are incredibly wide and can begin to feel like a film soundtrack. Nowhere is this more prominent than on “Sing For Me” which changes tempo in an incredibly dynamic way and it as though the listener is being transported through time. This album is one of the only times when I have liked Yellowcard for anything other than the music that they produce; lyrically, it is the most relatable the band have ever been and this album feels like the one that could unite an audience young and old in concert halls everywhere.

Yellowcard have been away for a while but this album never sounds like the finale to the band’s work; instead it feels like the start if a new era for Yellowcard. Providing everything that the band needs to receive commercial recognition, “When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes” signals the start of something very special.

Author: Josie Payne