Yellowcard
Lights And Sounds

THE REVIEW

There are many artists who over the years lose the desire to make music, in fact, for many, the desire to renew themselves and have fun composing something new vanishes.

Examples abound: it is undeniable that Linkin Park have gotten a little lost in recent years, indeed releasing a CD of just 6 songs (Collision Course) which offers very little new, Limp Bizkit, after a booming start, entered an irreversible crisis, and even Metallica have experienced unhappy periods (Load in my opinion is a disaster). A downturn is acceptable, BUT A TOTAL COLLAPSE IS NOT ACCEPTABLE!

I certainly don't intend to compare Metallica with Yellowcard but I want to make it clear that "Lights And Sounds" represents the self-destruction of a band that in the punk-rock scene stood out for a considerable peculiarity: the presence of a violinist. For heaven's sake, it was still a punk-rock band, offspring of MTV, but this innovation garnered quite a few acclaims... and then? Nothing at all.

WASTED TIME...

I won’t analyze song by song simply because there's no opportunity to do so! Excluding the first piece "Three Flights Up" which is entirely played with the violin and the title-track "Lights And Sounds", the album seems as if it doesn’t exist, in my opinion, it's a ghost CD! A series of forced melodies, bland rhythms, clichéd sounds, and lyrics suitable for moving identity-crisis-stricken teenagers. All of this repeated for 12 songs (excluding the first 2 tracks). I can assure you that the desire to "skip" from one song to another will be overwhelming, therefore I'm convinced that even the most patient listener will crumble in front of this paranoid album. So? The question arises spontaneously: are Yellowcard offspring of record companies? Were they born "at the negotiation table"? Probably yes, and thus if they soon disappear into anonymity, there's not much to be surprised about.

After reading my considerations, will punk-pop lovers be disgusted? Perhaps. Certainly, all those who, like me, thirst for real music, regardless of the genre, will exult, and surely someone will shout: "Another sad page of commercial music has been written, Yellowcard are dead!" Alas, this someone is right, I liked them, but "Lights And Sounds" is the classic example of a "commercial flop" useful only for those who love to throw money down the drain...

CURIOSITY:

Have you ever wondered why they are named this way? When they weren't yet a band, during parties they used to "warn" those who did something stupid, how sad! For what they have done, they should be disqualified for life!

TRACKLIST (if you really care!!!)

"Lights and Sounds"

Three Flights Up

Lights And Sounds

Down On My Head

Sure Thing

Falling

City Of Devils

Rough Landing, Holly

Two Weeks From Twenty

Waiting Game

Martin Sheen Or JFK

Space Travel

GreyWords, Hands, Hearts

How I Go

Holly Wood Died