Yellowcard - 'Finding Self-Worth and Purpose with Travis Barker'
It’s an incredibly exciting day for Yellowcard fans as the band announces their first full length album in almost a decade, Better Days, due for release on October 10 via Better Noise Music. The band have just dropped not one, but two ripping singles from the upcoming album, including the hopeful title track ‘Better Days’ - which the band performed on their recent Australian tour - and the hyper energetic ‘honestly I’, giving listeners a glimpse of what to expect in October.
This album is momentous for a number of reasons, firstly because it’s the first full length from Yellowcard since they went on hiatus back in 2016, and secondly, because it was produced by none other than Travis Barker from blink-182, who also plays drums on the album.
We were very fortunate to sit down with Ryan Key and Sean Mackin when the band were in Melbourne last month, and got to dive in and hear all about how the album came to life and how the band got linked up with Barker.
Watch the full interview or read on for the best bits...
On the story of how the collaboration came about, Ryan was more than eager to fill us in on all the juicy details.
"We were out in LA, recording ‘A Whole New World’ for the Disney compilation. Before we went out, we had talked to Nick Long and asked if we could carve out a few days to work together. A month or so before we went, Nick calls Ryan Mendez and says he was talking to Travis Barker about us going out there and he said to bring us to the studio because he wanted to be in on those sessions.
So, we get to LA, check into our Airbnb on Wednesday, have a couple glasses of wine to settle our nerves, and the next morning we wake up and go to Travis’ studio. We did these two songs and we were really pumped on them.
At the end of it, he was just sitting on the couch in the back of the control room and he just said ‘I wanna make a record with you guys’.
Obviously, we left the studio freaking out."
With well over two decades and a vast catalogue of incredible albums behind them, it would be easy for Yellowcard to simply keep cruising on the nostalgia wave, waiting around for the next big album anniversary to keep things moving. Better Days proves that the band doesn’t want to stay in the place, and is creating with drive, purpose and because they still have something to say.
‘We wrote a lot of songs. More songs than we’ve ever written for an album, but it was effortless. We just showed up every day and hung out. We’d hop around from song to song, never too hyper focused on one thing, and kind of just letting it happen until it we had a good song.
We’ve always done the songs, and the songs go on the album. So, having that much material was a testament to how much we were writing and how much we were enjoying the process."
Travis’ belief in the project and his support. Talk about revitalising us as a band and finding self-worth and purpose. It’s all there
With the first taste of Yellowcard's exciting new era among us, and a motivation unlike any other before them, the only way is up for the reformed pop punk heroes.
Interview by Nicholas Simonsen @blackechomusic
Better Days arrives on Friday, October 10 via Better Noise Music.
Pre-order are live right now (right here) and you bet they’re going to be flying out the door.
Yellowcard - Better Days tracklisting
1. Better Days
2. Take What You Want
3. Love Letters Lost (feat. Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio)
4. honestly I
5. You Broke Me Too (feat. Avril Lavigne)
6. City of Angels
7. Bedroom Posters
8. Skin Scraped
9. Barely Alive
10. Big Blue Eyes
