Non-mainstream essentials: April 2011


By Nick DiNatale
Music Editor

March’s largest success: Yellowcard’s When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes

With alt-rock act Yellowcard now signed to Hopeless Records, When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes comes three years following the group’s previous release, Paper Walls. It was a shock to many of their fans when the band decided to put things on pause in order to go on hiatus in 2008. Yellowcard was coming off of their three most successful records and were getting ready to tour Europe. However, they simply needed to spend extra time tending to their personal lives, so they put their career on hold and took a break from the band. As promised, the hiatus was nothing more than that, and When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes redeems the long wait between albums.

From the first few seconds of the album, Yellowcard establishes that they are poised to surge right back to the forefront of the alternative rock scene. The initial song on the record, “The Sound Of You And Me” is a hard-hitting, fast paced start to the record. The next two tracks on the record are just as powerful and do ascertain the fact the Yellowcard hasn’t made a major jump towards a mainstream sound with the new record. The third of these songs, “With You Around,” contains a captivating melody and lines such as “All I can think about was you and me driving with a Saves The Day record on/We were singing until our voices were gone,” which could easily make it the most memorable song on the album.

“Life Of Leaving Home” and “Be The Young” are also notable tracks, along with “Hang You Up,” which was released as a single prior to the rest of the album. The entire record is filled with hooks, while not being clichéd in the slightest regard. When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes is another success for Yellowcard to add to their résumé of alt-rock/pop-punk mastery. Look for this record to be a fan favorite in no time.

Looking forward to April:

1. Asking Alexandria’s Reckless and Relentless (4/5)

2. Between The Buried And Me’s The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues (4/12)

3. Foo Fighter’s Wasting Light (4/12)

4. Thursday’s No Devolucion (4/12)

5. The Plot In You’s First Born (4/19)

6. Augustana’s Augustana (4/26)

7. Explosions In The Sky’s Take Care, Take Care, Take Care (4/26)

8. Silverstein’s Rescue (4/26)