I agree with this overall. I don't go back to it nearly as much as I go back to albums like Paper Walls, or even Southern Air, but it's still an amazing album that will always mean a ton to me.
Wonder what the girl on the cover of the album is up to nowadays. Same with the girl in the music video.
I was really into One for the Kids and The Underdog EP in high school so when Ocean Avenue dropped I was so excited. I never envisioned it to blow up the way it did and I recall being so happy that a band I was really into was blowing up. This came out right before I started college and my freshman year it was all anyone was listening to it seemed like. Off the top of my head I’d list Breathing, Empty Apartment, Way Away and Only One and Believe as my top 5 but yeah, Back Home is absurdly good too. This isn’t my favorite YC album, but it’s definitely the most sentimental in terms of the memories tied to it.
The first paragraph is so similar to me. Discovered Yellowcard with One for the Kids, and October Nights. Really cool to have a proper no band with violin. Liked the Underdog EP. When Way Away, it was wow for me. Great Record. Lots of stands outs, but Back Home has a special place for me and and my wife.
So, so hard for me to pick a top five from that album...but if i was pushed, it would be Empty Apartment, Way Away, Believe, Only One and Back Home. Ocean Avenue, Breathing and View From Heaven are also excellent. Was listening to the album on my iPod last night, and for some reason Gifts and Curses ended up in the tracklist. I feel that song doesn't get the love it deserves, it's a banger.
I don’t know that I’ve ever heard Gifts and Curses. I don’t have much of a history with Ocean Avenue, given that I only got into it in 2012 after getting into SA and PW. It’s probably my fifth favorite YC album - it certainly has some great songs but I’ve generally found it to be a somewhat uneven listen, with more tracks I consider skippable than in their later work. Some of my favorite songs on the album are the ones I rarely see much love for - Miles Apart, Twentythree, Inside Out, and One Year Six Months. Probably couldn’t pick one favorite, but those songs are up there along with Back Home and the title track.
Wow! I have vivid memories of driving to a CD store with dad and my brother so he could buy Ocean Avenue, and my brother playing Life of a Salesman for my dad. 15 years ago!
Endless memories with this album and trying to wrap my head around 15 years but like also trying to wrap my head around the fact that this means the OA10 tour was somehow 5 years ago
I think I'm in a minority but I really enjoy Miles Apart. It's probably joint third on the album for me, alongside OA and after Empty Apartment and Only One
It's not my favorite but whenever I stop listening to the record, that's the song that ends up stuck in my head. Definitely catchy.