I think that some people may think that this is a new album from the band and they have had a massive progression in sound, however in actual fact it is a re-release of an album they recorded back in 1999 – and when you look at it in this light, it is really quite an impressive album. With a different singer, and less top heavy violin work this band really do sound completely different. Ok, so this album’s never going to be your favourite album, but still – for what it is, it’s certainly very good. I have a feeling that some Yellowcard haters may enjoy this record if they didn’t know who the artist was – it really is that different.
In ‘Where We Stand,’ Yellowcard created a far more edgy Punk sound, a far cry from the highly defined, perfectionist recording approach of the Yellowcard of today. Instead of being led by the violin, it is very guitar heavy with some good violin work and the occasional violin solo which show that even at a young age this band were highly creative and trying to do something new. One thing that is extremely noticeable from listening to this album is that Yellowcard were a lot faster back in the day and in turn had a much heavier sound. The drum work throughout this album is particularly impressive – it is hard and fast and really does shine through and stand out on this album.
I’d imagine that there’s a fair amount of die hard Yellowcard fans out there that would absolutely hate this album and never consider buying it had it been recorded by another band. I much prefer this album to ‘One for the Kids,’ the bands breakthrough album which I thought was out of tune and extremely dull to listen to. Although this album is far from being perfect, I really think that this band could have had something with this singer – I doubt they would have had the chart success that they’ve had with Ryan Key, but they almost certainly would have been a Punk sensation. There’s definitely something distinctly charming about this album which makes its rawness loveable and almost adorable.
Released: 1st August 2005
Label: Kung Fu
Rating:
UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
