Yellowcard’s Childhood Eyes: Safely Looking Back
Florida pop-punkers Yellowcard have had a pretty eye-catching patch in the past couple of years, mostly owing to their preliminary breakup in 2017, followed by the horrendous Juice Wrld controversy, now reuniting and (understandably) banking on the successes of Ocean Avenue for a handful of shows celebrating its 20th anniversary. Amidst these ventures, the group’s first music since their 2016 self-titled release also came to light in the form of Childhood Eyes, which, ironically, is the least interesting aspect of the group’s past few years even if it is “conventionally” and relatively good within the band’s canon. From the get go, this EP’s strong homages to Yellowcard’s best era musically (When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes and Southern Air) are quite tastefully-done and feature some of the slickest interpretations of pop-punk the group have done since then. Though, even as a release notedly created “with [their] fans in mind,” it does struggle to be more noteworthy than their current ventures with, say, Ocean Avenue ‘s 20th anniversary tour.
The EP’s first two tracks set the stage quite well: Three Minutes More’s hard-panned back-and-forth vocal format with Ryan Key and Vic Fuentes (of Pierce the Veil) adds a good sense of urgency that complements its roaring musical aggression, while the title track is a very Southern Air-styled throwback featuring some nice musings about the dejection of “growing up” flanked with some of the most eclectic violin melodies on the project (which are too frequently muffled in the mixes of this EP). The remaining three tracks, however, struggle to maintain the momentum as they feel like a mishmash of too many different styles in their back catalog that, while aptly paid homage to, suffer from symptoms of arrested (musical) development that aren’t as apparent on the first two tracks. They’re all “good” at a baseline, but too little is being done to make it feel like a noteworthy progression from their 2011–12-era sound (barring Honest from the Jump, which feels more entrenched in Lift a Sail and S/T, but still a bit disjointed in and of itself).
When looking at Yellowcard’s past two full-length releases (Lift a Sail and S/T), there’s a very clear disconnect those records have with their earlier work, which led to a bit of an apathetic response from their fanbase (and subsequently complete neglect in the setlists of their current tour). Though, what those records lack in polish and consistency, they make up for with ambition and a drive to shift the sonic palettes of Yellowcard into uncharted territory. This ambition, however, is something that should not be lost in attempts to rekindle a past flame, though it is unfortunately the case for much of Childhood Eyes. The group are certainly in their element on this EP, but they’ve shown to be capable of more enticing pieces that still build off the foundations that a majority of their fanbase would demand while also pushing the envelope of their artistry. Perhaps, with a little more time to rekindle their chemistry as a group, that may rediscover that spark for (greater) ambition; find it and things would be better.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: Three Minutes More, Childhood Eyes
2023/07/26
Originally published at https://www.tumblr.com on July 26, 2023.
