Paper Walls - Yellowcard

Stephen Mason | 20 September 2007

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The first thing that struck me about this CD was the onslaught of furious drumming in the opening track The Takedown. But don’t think that Yellowcard’s music is heavy. It’s fast.

If you like your 21st-century punk (as opposed to old school mohawks, safety pins and on-stage excreter punk) then Paper Walls is for you. Think Blink182 without the puerile adolescence, Simple Plan without the whinging or AFI without the cranky pants. On the whole Yellowcard don’t offer much that’s new but they do pop-punk really well.

Yellowcard are recognised as the emo band with the violin. But it’s not merely a gimmick nor is it a feature. Throughout the album Sean Mackin can be heard sawing away and is sometimes joined by more strings on tracks like Shadows And Regrets. However, Yellowcard are predominantly a guitar band with a strong, full sound.

There are moments when they do something very different. The choir that opens the title track is reminiscent of Ride’s I Don’t Know Where It Comes From and Dear Bobbie features spoken word from an old man describing a life-long love. These moments are opportunities for the music to take a breath before diving back in.

So musically Yellowcard are taking a few steps toward maturity. The same can also be said for singer Ryan Key’s lyrics. While he typically writes about boy/girl relationships his horizons on Paper Walls have broadened. He has taken time to reflect on how our actions impact others and what the consequences might be.

In Five Becomes Four he talks about the abandonment felt when someone breaks away from a group of friends and goes on to make a series of bad choices. It’s similar to what we might feel when friends loose their faith.

In Keeper he admits that by not opening himself up to his partner he gave her no reason to stay with him. We might wonder how God might be satisfied with us if we aren’t prayerfully open and honest. Let’s be thankful that He won’t give up and walk away and let’s try to include him in all we think and do.

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