Southern Air by Yellowcard

I want to start this review by being completely honest with the reader. This album is far and away my favorite album of 2012, and most likely in my top 10 of all time. It's stupid good. The cohesiveness of the tracks is amazing. The lyrical depth is amazing, especially for a pop punk band. And the musicianship is ridiculous.

So instead of gushing about the album as a whole, I'm going to break it down and go song by song with my review.

1. Awakening

This is one of my favorite album openers of all time. I can only think of one I like more, and that's Feeling This by blink-182. It starts with energy, and that carries through the entire song. Catchy, heavy, lyrically relevant and deep, just an all around great song.

2. Surface of the Sun

Simple song. Pretty underwhelming as a whole, but extremely solid. Nice heavy guitar riffing, and Sean Mackin does his thing like normal on the violin. Don't want to call it a filler song, but that's basically what it is.

3. Always Summer

My favorite song off the album, and possibly my favorite Yellowcard song of all time. Mackin absolutely kills the violin solo on the bridge. The guitar riffing is insanely catchy. Ryan Keys' vocal work and lyrics are impeccable. I can't say enough about this song.

4. Here I Am Alive

This song is sugary sweet pop rock. Insanely catchy. Possibly the catchiest song I've ever heard. Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy fame has a writing credit on it, and it shows. Got some radio play, which was definitely deserved by this awesome band.

5. Sleep in the Snow

Love the opening riff on this one, along with LP's drums. Makes it feel really epic. This is the kind of Yellowcard song you're used to: one that you just imagine yourself driving around with the windows down listening to. Perfection.

6. A Vicious Kind

Ryan Key's vocal performance on this song blows me away. He does a little falsetto thing in the chorus that will be stuck in your head for a long time, and the pre-chorus is just plain stupid epic. Great performance by him on this song.

7. Telescope

Best mid-tempo song on the album. I really feel like the band figured out how to do the mid-tempo anthems on Lights and Sounds, and this song feels like it could be on that album. Good lyrics, great chorus riff, and as always, Sean Mackin's violin in the background, completing the Yellowcard sound.

8. Rivertown Blues

Now the guys over at Absolute Punk said this was their favorite song off the album and believed it was going to be a hit. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but I don't really know what they were talking about. It is a very complete song: good lyrics, upbeat pop-punk drums, decent vocal performance by Ryan, and the ever present violin, but it's probably only my third or fourth track off the album. Definitely worthy of single consideration.

9. Ten

Ten is possibly the saddest song I've ever heard. The beautifully written acoustic guitar laden ballad is about Ryan Keys' unborn son that apparently died in the womb 10 years ago. All about what he would have been like and what his relationship with Ryan would be like today. I'm sure it was incredibly painful for Ryan to write, but I appreciate his honesty and it is definitely one of the highlights of the record.

10. Southern Air

Perfect ending to this record. A song all about the band's Southern roots. Longing for home but still looking ahead, this anthem captures the essence of this record and then just rocks the crap out of it. Amazing.

Score: 10/10

- JL