Lights and Sounds is the fifth studio album by American rock band Yellowcard, released on January 24, 2006, in the United States through Capitol Records. Lights and Sounds is Yellowcard's first concept album, which was inspired to reflect what the band was feeling at the time of production and how they have matured in the process. Lights and Sounds also departs from the sounds on Yellowcard's previous album, Ocean Avenue (2003), scaling back much of the band's pop-punk sound in favor of a sound more generally characteristic of alternative rock.
Lights and Sounds debuted to mixed reviews from contemporary music critics, receiving criticism as the album fell short from the standard set by its predecessor, Ocean Avenue. Upon the album's release, it charted at number five on Billboard's 200 and Top Internet Albums' charts, making it the band's highest charting album to date. The album accumulated sales of just over 315,000 copies, which failed to match the 2 million sales of their previous album. Yellowcard went on to explain that the disappointment of the sales were due to their going "a bit too far" with the expectations they had thought the album would exceed. Lights and Sounds was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
The album yielded two singles, "Lights and Sounds" and "Rough Landing, Holly". While the band was promoting the album, lead guitarist Ben Harper parted ways with the band. Following Harper's departure, the band revealed that they had entered their "highest and lowest" points because of Harper's departure from the band. To accommodate the album's promotion, Yellowcard replaced Harper with guitarist Ryan Mendez.
Background and production After almost two years of touring in support of their 2003 album, Ocean Avenue, Yellowcard took a few months off. In December 2004, vocalist Ryan Key and bassist Peter Mosely moved to New York City to write songs for their upcoming album, while the rest of the band remained in Los Angeles.
As Key and Mosely stayed in New York, they admitted that there was a delay when it came to start writing songs for the album. Key, however, did explain that they were writing "weird, obscure, not-too-mellow" tracks and working on notebooks that he compiled while the band was touring. He also noted that he was able to write for a couple of hours and would receive over "15-20 ideas" that he could take out for the band, so once they all got together, they can start collaborating on the record. Mosely, also in discussion of this, added that the reason it took them so long was because they were "scared to death" with the writing. Mosely concluded that once the writing had begun, the process was easier on them. It was also during this time that Key and Mosely began to turn their apartment into a studio, adding a drum kit, guitar amps, and even including a piano. While Key and Mosely began the development of the songs, the rest of the members would occasionally fly to New York to check on the progress.
In April 2005, the band met in Los Angeles and began working at the Sunset Sound studios. The following month in an interview with MTV News, lead guitarist Ben Harper revealed that the writing process was finished. In addition, Harper commented that the band recorded 19 songs for the album, 13 of which made the final cut. Sessions were held at Sunset Sound in May and June 2005, with producer Neal Avron. Recording was handled by Bradley Cook and Avron, with assistance from Bill Mims and Pro Tools engineer Travis Huff. Tom Lord-Alge mixed the recordings, with assistance from Femio Hernández, at South Beach Studios in Miami, Florida. Ted Jensen mastered the album at Sterling Sound in New York City.
Music Musical style With Lights and Sounds, Yellowcard broke away from their original pop-punk sound to a more alternative rock album, though some critics described it as pop-punk anyway. The album is somewhat of a concept album, made to reflect what Yellowcard was feeling at the time of production. Ryan Key, in discussion of this, said that Ocean Avenue was about "finding your place in the world" and explained that Lights and Sounds was about "realizing that you've gotten lost". The band has cited Radiohead's Kid A (2000) and Guns N' Roses' 1991 albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II as major influences for the album. Yellowcard also credit Aphex Twin, Mouse on Mars and Explosions in the Sky for inspiration, regarding the music sound in the album.
In an interview in August 2005, Key explained that the album was a "definite departure" and "more political" than what Ocean Avenue had contained. In discussion of the album, Key said that the band had matured and that the music in Lights and Sounds would be different from their previous album. Though, Key added, "...we have to be careful, we have to try and write songs [in the style of the ones] we wrote before. We have to make a conscious effort not to think about the fact that we went from being a nothing band ... to having a bunch of hit singles in like, one year." Printz Board of The Black Eyed Peas collaborated with Yellowcard on the song "Two Weeks from Twenty" where he played a trumpet solo. The song, "How I Go", features a duet with the Chicks' lead vocalist Natalie Maines, and features a twenty-five piece orchestra, which was conducted by violinist Sean Mackin.
Key was a fan of the Chicks, and even thought of collaborating with Maines on Ocean Avenue for the song "View from Heaven", but as Yellowcard had not yet found mainstream recognition, the Chicks' record label flatly refused at that time. As Yellowcard were entering the studio to record Lights and Sounds, the band learned from Avron that the Chicks were coincidentally next door recording what would become Taking the Long Way (2006) with Rick Rubin. Once the rest of the song was completed, Key approached Maines and asked her to sing on the song, providing her a demo of the song; Maines liked the song so much that she wrote her own parts to the song.
Lyrical content Lights and Sounds primarily focuses on the band coping with the success they were enduring when writing songs for the album. The album also goes with what Key described as when he was preoccupied with making Lights and Sounds. Key said that one of the common themes that were written in the album was the band's hatred in living in Los Angeles. Key said that the songs have "lost that adolescent bounciness -- they've come into adulthood a bit". In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Key revealed that during the time he and Mosely spent in New York, he said it "brought out some darker places" in them and that it was "not in a 'now I'm going to start wearing eyeliner' kind of way, but emotionally darker." In addition, many of the song's themes deal with Key's battle with drugs and alcohol.
While making the album, Yellowcard had also developed a character, Holly Wood, who served as a narrator and protagonist for the album's storyline. The character is featured in the songs "Rough Landing, Holly" and "Holly Wood Died". The band explained the meaning of the title track, which they said is based on a "whirlwind rocker about the pressures on the band members" and how they have changed as they have aged after the release of Ocean Avenue. Key also commented that when he was preoccupied with making the album, there were distractions while in the process; he simply referred to the distractions as "lights and sounds", which ultimately resulted in the band naming the album just that. He also says that the main reason behind that was how it affected the band during that particular time.
During discussion of the track listing in Lights and Sounds, Yellowcard revealed that "Two Weeks from Twenty" stretched the "limits" for them and explained that it was a "jazz-lounge anti-war song". The band also explained that the song is a narrative of a young soldier named Jimmy, from New Jersey, who is killed in the Iraq war. Other songs such as "Down on My Head", "City of Devils", and "Holly Wood Died", had a theme that spoke about bitterness and disillusionment. "How I Go" is based on both lament of a father over the life that has flowed past him and the 2003 film, Big Fish. Another song, "Words, Hands, Hearts", is written about the events that occurred during the September 11 attacks.
Release and promotion
In August 2005, Yellowcard announced the songs, "Lights and Sounds", "Sure Thing Falling", and "Two Weeks from Twenty", that were going to be featured in the album. In September 2005, the band played a few festivals in Japan, before embarking on a tour of Canada with Rufio and Moneen. That same month, their next album was announced for release in four months' time. "Lights and Sounds" debuted as part of the soundtrack to Burnout Revenge, before made available for streaming through the band's website on September 14, 2005. Later in September, the band announced the album's title and revealed that the title track, "Lights and Sounds", was confirmed to be the first single from the album, with a video shot in Van Nuys, California and a release date of November 15.
Between October and December 2005, Yellowcard went on a cross-country US tour with Acceptance and the Pink Spiders. In November 2005, it was announced that guitarist Ben Harper had parted ways with the band. Key explained that the band went through "a lot of the highest and lowest points" and that making an album "would be on the highest list, and losing a member would be on the lowest." He also added, "It's really been a long journey together, you know, so obviously, parting ways with Ben was a really unpleasant experience. It was either go on without him, or don't go on at all. And, at the core, we decided that we had something too great to let go of, and that we had to kind of make a last resort and move on without him." Harper was replaced by Ryan Mendez of Staring Back, who broke up upon Mendez leaving.
The music video for the title-track was featured on a Verizon Wireless Vcast commercial around the time of the album's release. Lights and Sounds was released on January 24, 2006 through major label Capitol Records. In January and February the band went on a tour of the US. On March 21, 2006, the music video for "Rough Landing, Holly" was posted online. In April and May, the band embarked on the Virgin College Mega Tour alongside Mae, Over It, and Strike Fire Fall. Following this, they appeared at the HFStival. In June, the band went on a summer tour alongside Matchbook Romance and Hedley. During this, a video for "Sure Thing Falling" was posted on the band's Myspace profile. They then appeared at the San Diego Street Scene festival in August 2006, and played a few shows in Brazil. In September 2006, the band went on a headlining tour of the US with support from Anberlin and Reeve Oliver, and appeared at the X96 Big Ass Show and Bamboozle Left festivals.
Critical reception