Though the band has been broken up for over a year now, beloved pop-punk/alt-rock heroes Yellowcard certainly are remembered fondly by fans. And why wouldn’t they be? They made some of the most important albums in the aforementioned genres of the last 15+ years, especially 2003’s Ocean Avenue – which celebrates its 15th anniversary today.
Full disclosure here from the Editor. I personally feel that their albums When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes and follow-up Southern Air were the band’s best work. They improved as they matured, Yellowcard. That in no way disregards Ocean Avenue as a quality album, though. It’s still arguably their most anthemic record, and it’s one of the select few that take you to a specific time and place – that summer in 2004 with your best friends, throwing parties, and spending the 90+ degree days on the beach. Ocean Avenue is sunny, warm, and inviting in that way – but there’s a few clouds in the way on darker tracks like “Way Away”. No anthemic qualities lost, though.
An album that sells almost 2 million copies in the USA, has songs on multiple video games (Madden 2004 was BIG), and manages to impact many people has to be considered successful. Ocean Avenue launched the band’s career, and enabled us as fans to see their impressive growth over the years. A comeback record like Southern Air never would have been possible without their initial success – and honestly, we should just be blessed with the power of Yellowcard’s music over the years.
15 years ago today a collection of 13 songs was released to the world. It was a day that I could never have known would change my life so dramatically. #OceanAvenue is the reason I am still able to do what I love today. Thank you guys for an incredible ride. Here’s to 15 more. pic.twitter.com/Q4lQw0NtSK
— William Ryan Key (@williamryankey) July 22, 2018
