Social media burst with excitement of fireworks proportions as Yellowcard teased something epic was to come on May 31st. With a bold statement: “From the Makers of Ocean Avenue…” Childhood Eyes made fans, young and old, scream with exhilarating excitement. The countdown starting on May 15th showed each of the current lineup in a black and white promo photo with snippets of lyrics as the captions. Many speculated that this could be a new single, and in 2023, this was a welcomed surprise. Fans rejoiced as the summer tour celebrating 20 years of Ocean Avenue hits the road starting this July in Milwaukee. Philadelphia can expect the tour to make its stop at the Skyline Stage at the Mann Center on July 11th. The band will be joined by iconic bands such as Story of the Year, Anberlin, Mayday Parade and This Wild Life.
The cryptic messages continues;
On May 20th, the band’s official Twitter account tweeted “What’s in the briefcase?!..” with the Ocean Avenue emblazoned on it. The black and white photos continue and fans speculated that Childhood Eyes was to pay homage to the band’s lead single off of their 2003 Capitol Records debut Ocean Avenue. Honestly how many times can I say Ocean Avenue in this post?! The limit does not exist. This is truly reminiscent of the sounds heard in the band’s legacy of a catalogue with sounds mixed in from Ocean Avenue, to their comeback album When You’re Through Thinking to the Southern Air and Yellowcard self-titled records.
This EP releasing on July 7th (announced today) see’s the band joining with Neal Avron helming the production and Equal Vision Records on the release. This sounds like a refined sound that fans have come to love and adore and I can’t wait hear these songs live on tour and on July 7th from Equal Vision Records.
The ten second teaser showed the four band members getting doused with copious amounts of water and having to relive the chaotic moments of the last twenty years. Fans can now pre-save the single out on May 31st here(including all the important links here). We can’t wait to see you all in the balcony and pits (because we are elder emo’s now).
I am the kind of music lover that will set aside my undivided attention to listen to a band’s new album in its entirety. Time is precious and there are no repeats so when I have free time to just sit and unwind. I’d like to grab a coffee or tea and put something fresh to my ears on in the background. No phone nearby as I put it on do not disturb and sat it on the nightstand by my bed. The world has had enough of my attention for the moment. Let me dive into something sweeter to my ears…the new Paramore record This Is Why.
When the world saw teases from members of Paramore that they were recording in the studio again – music fans rejoiced as their favorite Tennesseans would be once again gracing their existences again. The ten song track enlists some of the iconic Paramore sounds that we have come to adore but with a grittier touch and experiences from the last several years to really sharpen the edge of the lyrical sword. Layered with guitar laden riffs, breakdowns and synthesized harmonies and rhythm – Paramore makes it known that this isn’t a comeback moment. They were always there, existing and living and breathing what the universe was giving and through This is Why they have returned the favor.
The opening song (and the title track) kicks off with This is Why which basically is this generations middle fingered anthem to the last three years. “This is why I don’t go outside, you say the coast is clear, but you won’t catch me out…” really gestures to the mood of everyone, myself included, who are tired, sad and out of words to describe the state of things. It could not have come at a better time for me personally as I resonate strongly with the song lyrics. I often want to scream “if you have an opinion, maybe you should shove it” because the sympathy in me has gone dry and I am setting boundaries that should’ve been built in place a long time. Therapy helps with that and this is music therapy at its core. (Least it is for me.)
But the hits don’t stop there, as the band weaves their sonically, iconic sounds in and out, with tracks like Running Out of Time, You First, and Liar. It gives the listener a sense of camaraderie as they aren’t alone in feeling like the world is a shitty place to be in. Like Hayley Williams, I have a bad sense of direction and my time management skills, if improved upon, would help to ease my anxiety levels a bit. In an interview with Genius, Williams mentions that the song was one of the earliest pieces of writing for the new album and that hearing the chorus made her excited - ”I have to write the coolest shit ever.” I feel like she’s a kindred spirit as a 30-something year old living in the US who without a doubt have had their rights and opinions and freedoms challenged daily. Even at the time of writing this review, I always get the question ”when are you having children?” or ”when are you settling down?” As if life and its finite moments had a shelf life or expiration date on it. You First and Liar are both similar musical thought pieces and in the same vein as running out of time. It challenges the societal expectations that a woman (and one in the music industry) should have certain things etched onto their life mile markers.
My other favorite tracks are ”C’est Comme Ca” and “The News” and it is such a powerhouse kick to the face. In C’est Comme Ca, Williams switches back and forth from singing and spoken word effortlessly and her vocal inflections gives the lyrics an added punch to the gut. She even taps into the ideology of mental health advocates suggesting cure alls for what ails us but never allowing us the access to those resources. ”I know that regression is rarely rewarded. I still need a certain degree of disorder. I hate to admit getting better is boring. But the high cost of chaos, who can afford it?” I mean who can argue that it’s not evident that mental health resources and illnesses are imbalanced and doesn’t help the entire population who needs said resources. The News also shouts out how fast paced things are and taps into the idea that “news travels fast” and how much of a headache we can attain when we think too much of it. “Shut your eyes, but it won’t go away. Turn on, turn off the news. Exploitative, performative, informative.” And honestly same. Everywhere we go it seems to be performative actions masked by false pretenses.
I had a nice morning just sitting in quiet reverie and really allow myself to unwind. Self care can be seen in the form of a bubble bath or a face mask or retail therapy. But for me, and many others, it’s just a quiet space with great music blasting on the record player. And in due time, there will be a return of Vinyl Collections featuring the Target variants of the album.
Starting this brand new week bringing back our On The Radar playlist series from 2022 with our new favorite tracks from some new artists we are currently loving and old favorites too. Be sure to check out our Spotify Playlist to hear all of this week’s songs in one place.
The Heavy - I Feel The Love - This album in its entirety has all of the 60’s jazz vibes mixed in with the epic sounds of 90’s guitar and it’s just a fun summertime album to blast on a weekend adventure out. But this song is funky and fresh and fun.
Bay Ledges - Sylvia (Nanana)*- The latest release (4/21/23) comes from Bay Ledges, that has all of the Coastal California summer vibes pouring out of it. It is sonically fresh and as he states ”if you change your mind, I’ll be busy living”. What a pure statement to make as we should just live our lives how we want and not conform to society’s standards.
The Haunt - I’m Done * Inspired by the classic horror movie “Poltergeist”, “I’m Done” is a hauntingly beautiful masterpiece of life after heartbreak and gaining clarity through a fresh set of eyes. Definitely have this on your radar as it’s going to be heard on everyone’s playlists.
Jericho - Iniko -I first heard this song on an Instagram reel and instantly loved it.The song is different from anything I have heard and it’s so cosmically beautiful. Plus the way Iniko weaves the feelings of how she views the world is quite magical. Definitely won’t be the last time we hear of this angelic voice. San Francisco - The Mowgli’s -This is Anna (our UK Music Coordinator’s) top pick this week as she had heard this during a viewing of the new Guardians of the Galaxy. She said she couldn’t get it out of her head and had to immediately put it on the car radio when she had left the theatres that night.
Golden Hour - HRVY - This was shuffled in with one of my playlists generated by Spotify and as a photographer who lives for golden hour and the best part of the day is when the light dances gracefully against the walls as the moon peeks out.
Jungle - Candle Flame -Post success with the release of Loving in Stereo, Jungle comes back with Candle Flame that ignites the radio waves. Much like The Heavy – you can tell they are having a grand time just being themselves.
I Know a Place - MUNA -When I first heard this song, it gave off the same mood as “I wanna dance with somebody” and honestly that is something we need right now.
All Over Again - VINCINT - This is a dance like nobody’s watching kind of soundtrack. VINCINT has a knack for gracing us with their euphoric feel-good songs.
