If I had to pick the one thing missing from Lift a Sail and Self-Titled (for me), I'd go with the lack of pop punk type drums and riffs. I love those records, but I prefer this direction. It seems like Travis brought out enough of that to fill the space here
Travis is one of the few drummers who can bring the energy that LP brought to the band. Stoked to hear more after these first two. Very Paper Walls era sounding.
The main riff on Better Days gives me 00’s Switchfoot anthemic rock vibes ( I am not knowledgeable enough with guitar sounds to say why, but that’s immediately where my thought went), but the vocals and drum is big time pop punk. honestly I immediately gave me a serotonin dump that reminded me of classic Yellowcard. Could be a song lifted from Ocean Avenue era. The drop off before the bridge in honesty is chef’s kiss. I really dug the EP. This is all killer. Cool to see them continue to come back swinging. Sometimes new artists or legacy bands doing a modern pop punk record feels derivative. I am not catching that one bit with these songs at all. Feels like the songs have a lot of heart and soul to them. Fun watching Travis’s production style evolve. Lots of classic blink hooky stuff, but Yellowcard always had classic punk drum parts. Feels like he nailed his contributions to honor what was and bring his special sauce. Loved the press release and believe they went in wanting to do their best work, and getting help to realize the sound. Only gripe is this album wont be out for Summer. Feels like a bright skies windows down type fo record.
They're exactly what you would expect when you mix classic Yellowcard songwriting with the production of the last three Blink records.
Skiba on a Yellowcard song produced by Travis!! Wow. More evidenced AK3 is cooking with Travis right now. Cannot wait to hear what they came up with for this feature.
Oh, so these are like really good. I enjoyed the EP a lot, but those songs were a cut below my Yellowcard top tier. These sound like a band totally reinvigorated and firing on all cylinders. Super excited to hear the rest.
Agree on the Better Days riff. Vibes of Stars by Switchfoot. Better Days is decent enough, but honestly i is significantly better and has a chorus that is as memorable as anything they've released.
I was trying to place the familiarity of the verse vocals of "Better Days", and I think it has a bit of a melodic similarity to the verses of "Twentythree". It's pretty loose but just enough that it reinforces that Ocean Avenue connection and vibe.
Not if you think of it this way: "Only two more US holidays (Independence Day & Labor Day) before the new YC drops!"
Yes that’s what it was! It was driving me nuts and I couldn’t remember the song. I dig it a lot set to a melodic pop punk backdrop.
i might be overplaying these today. Gonna need the album asap to stop this madness from myself, but they're just so everything I could want from this band in 2025.
I think I want a little more violin on "Better Days", but that's gonna be a fun one live for Sean to do his aggressive point and fist pump thing on. The last 15-20 seconds is going to make a really cool intro into whatever song is after when the drums kick in. "honestly i" is so so good though, it's such a fun summer song. Drums are insane on that one too, no surprise there. 2 for 2 here, these are great.
Big day for @williamryankey, so doubt he's hanging around here, but since releasing openers/closers and sequencing, etc is discussed so heavily on this forum - I'd love your take on it. Does the full 'album experience' go out the window in your mind with the 2025 streaming priority? Any difficulty for you at all to release not only the opener, but the title track?
They are extremely repayable. I liked them a lot first play, but probably ten replays each and I am really digging what an entire album will sound like. lol also I NEED video footage of Travis tracking / producing a violin part.
I may be touching the third rail, but I also really like the production and if you had told me it was Neal Avron the only thing that woulda pointed me to Travis was the flanger drum sound. Sounds tight and very Yellowcard. i will not read be reading the blink reddit about this
Yeah something in this release feels like Travis is honing in on a production style that blends what the legacy of YC is but still brings his own signature to it. That was the most noticeable thing on first listen to me. There is a depth and cohesion that feels new. Seems like OMT really propelled his inclinations as a producer. Heard it on the Wavves single too.