Pop punk veterans Yellowcard call their comeback album 'Better Days' the 'ultimate redemption song'

"More than two decades after their peak, the music of Yellowcard is a pop punk message in a bottle. The note that washed ashore from a simpler time describes the image of a young, sharply-dressed band full of aspirations, thrashing on their instruments - violin included - in the echoey tomb of an underground parking garage in the music video for "Ocean Avenue" as the chorus kicks into overdrive."

""The first time it happened, we were really young," Key said, gingerly grasping a spoon with his heavily tattooed hand while stirring a cup of hot tea. "We were quite literally a garage band one minute, and then we were playing on the MTV Video Music Awards and David Letterman and whatever else the next minute." It's a moment that hasn't escaped his memory 22 years later."

"Now, he and his bandmates - violinist Sean Mackin, bassist Josh Portman and guitarist Ryan Mendez - are far from the ocean but not too far from water as they look out at a sparkling pool from the window from a suite at the Yaamava' Resort and Casino in Highland. A couple hours from now, the band will play a splashy pool party gig for 98.7 ALT FM. The set will include a raft of all the old hits, including "Ocean Avenue" of course, as well as their first new songs in almost a decade."

Yellowcard's music functions as a pop-punk message in a bottle that evokes youthful aspiration and raw energy. The "Ocean Avenue" video captures a sharply dressed band thrashing in an underground parking garage, violin included, as the chorus swells. The 2003 title track transformed Yellowcard from struggling garage musicians into world-touring headliners and MTV favorites. Frontman Ryan Key recalls the abrupt rise from small gigs to major television stages. The current lineup—Key, violinist Sean Mackin, bassist Josh Portman and guitarist Ryan Mendez—prepares a poolside performance featuring classic hits and the band's first new songs in nearly a decade. The band follows with their 11th album, Better Days.

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