- Original Release Date: August 14, 2012
- Release Date: August 14, 2012
- Label: Hopeless Records
- Copyright: (C) 2012 Hopeless Records, Inc.
- Total Length: 39:18
- Genres:
- ASIN: B008OPDF7I
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,096 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)
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| Song Title | Time | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Play | 1. Awakening | 4:23 | $1.29 | |
| Play | 2. Surface of the Sun | 3:43 | $1.29 | |
| Play | 3. Always Summer | 3:10 | $1.29 | |
| Play | 4. Here I Am Alive | 3:33 | $1.29 | |
| Play | 5. Sleep in the Snow | 4:02 | $1.29 | |
| Play | 6. A Vicious Kind | 3:53 | $1.29 | |
| Play | 7. Telescope | 3:52 | $1.29 | |
| Play | 8. Rivertown Blues | 3:33 | $1.29 | |
| Play | 9. Ten | 4:47 | $1.29 | |
| Play | 10. Southern Air | 4:22 | $1.29 |
Product Details |
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 28 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Yellowcard's "Southern Air" Shows it's Not What Drives You, but Who
September 9, 2012
Format:MP3 Music
Since 2011, every Yellowcard concert has included a new and very personal tribute. Lead singer Ryan Key steps into a solitary spotlight with his slate black guitar. He engages the audience with the story about how he started as a musician in thanks to one person in particular. He dedicates the next song, "Sing for Me," to his Aunt Stephanie. The crowd respectfully cheers, and it's plain to see he's not the same boy who left home before he could legally drink alcohol.
At nineteen, Key dropped out of Florida State University. He knew there was nothing else for him to do with his life but play music. When he told his parents he was heading to the west coast, they were unsupportive. But his Aunt Stephanie believed in him. She rode with him three thousand miles out to California. Before she said goodbye, she told him to live his life, and always follow his heart.
Nearly a decade later, Stephanie was diagnosed with a brain tumor. In 2011, she was given less than twelve months to live. Aggressive, experimental treatments followed with no guarantees. At the time, Yellowcard was just resurfacing out of their two-year hiatus. During the recording sessions for "When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes," Key wrote "Sing for Me" in for his Aunt Stephanie. She died shortly after the release of the album, and since then, he's sung her eulogy at every concert.
In 2012's "Southern Air," Aunt Stephanie gets one more song.
For the most part, this latest album is a tribute to summer music, and in particular, their roots in Jacksonville. Even the seemingly misplaced song "Sleep in the Snow" is the ballad of a southern boy opening up to a winter girl, a reflective breakup song that is so honest, charged, and emotionally resonate that the minute-long melodic outro leaves you wanting it to go on forever.
With the two albums released after Yellowcard's breakthrough "Ocean Avenue" in 2003, the band was trying to recapture lightning in a bottle, and to be honest, rather unsuccessfully. The tribulations and utter depletion of energy and creativity led to their hiatus in 2008. But when they returned with "Say Yes," they set their own expectations. "Southern Air" is a continuation of that statement, where Yellowcard puts an assured flag in the sand.
It begins with "Awakening," which boasts the kind of urgency and energy reminiscent of The Starting Line's opening numbers. Then there's "Surface of the Sun" a heavy anthem that buttresses Sean Macklin's violin with both a viola and cello. With some help from brothers-in-arms like Patrick Stump and All Time Low, the overall tone of the album is thoughtfully assertive, as summed up by the lyrics of "Here I Am Alive": "You don't grow up, you just grow old. It's safe to say I haven't done both."
While the opening numbers have all the hooks, the album still manages to close out strong. Among the final act is "Rivertown Blues," riding a chainsaw riff and machinegun drums that recycle some of the wonderful successes of "Ocean Avenue." For salivating shredders out there, there's also a beautifully harmonized guitar solo that bursts as clearly and commandingly as anything they've done to date. While the solo might not be entirely memorable, it packs enough punch to incite a few mosh pits along the next tour.
The song most critics are raving about is "Ten," a track recorded and intended to be acoustic-only from the outset. It's sung from a father to a child that never made it into his life, assumedly through miscarriage. The lyrics stripped and bare, more therapeutic than poetic, and if you do the math, this song very well might be about something that happened to Ryan Key himself; however, as of today, I could not find sources to confirm that.
And while the title track closer "Southern Air" finishes the album with a strong outro riff that reminds me of Silverchair's "Without You" - though it's more likely homage to early-90's Smashing Pumpkins, turn-up-the-Marshall-amps, grunge rock -- the backbone of the album is "Telescope," a postmortem dedication to Aunt Stephanie, an ode to that three thousand mile ride to the west coast. Key seeks some sense of closure here, if that's even possible to be had, and writes about the journey that changed his life, the one that turned a dropout into an power voice in popular music, the kind of thing you only see in movies. Key finds a balanced, resonate mix between hope, despair, plea, and peace in this song, a tough tightrope to tread, indeed:
"Let's just keep driving on,
All the stars jumping in through the windows.
Let's go where we belong,
Headed fast as we can for the unknown."
Where "Southern Air" could fly under the radar for most casual listeners, there's a confidence and maturity here to be relished. Among the gratitude and apologies, and even the touches of remorse, the composition of the album ultimately synthesizes into something beautiful. "Telescope" may or may not be the last tribute song for the woman who helped bring Yellowcard to the music world, but even if it is, don't be surprised if it, too, becomes a set list staple.
At nineteen, Key dropped out of Florida State University. He knew there was nothing else for him to do with his life but play music. When he told his parents he was heading to the west coast, they were unsupportive. But his Aunt Stephanie believed in him. She rode with him three thousand miles out to California. Before she said goodbye, she told him to live his life, and always follow his heart.
Nearly a decade later, Stephanie was diagnosed with a brain tumor. In 2011, she was given less than twelve months to live. Aggressive, experimental treatments followed with no guarantees. At the time, Yellowcard was just resurfacing out of their two-year hiatus. During the recording sessions for "When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes," Key wrote "Sing for Me" in for his Aunt Stephanie. She died shortly after the release of the album, and since then, he's sung her eulogy at every concert.
In 2012's "Southern Air," Aunt Stephanie gets one more song.
For the most part, this latest album is a tribute to summer music, and in particular, their roots in Jacksonville. Even the seemingly misplaced song "Sleep in the Snow" is the ballad of a southern boy opening up to a winter girl, a reflective breakup song that is so honest, charged, and emotionally resonate that the minute-long melodic outro leaves you wanting it to go on forever.
With the two albums released after Yellowcard's breakthrough "Ocean Avenue" in 2003, the band was trying to recapture lightning in a bottle, and to be honest, rather unsuccessfully. The tribulations and utter depletion of energy and creativity led to their hiatus in 2008. But when they returned with "Say Yes," they set their own expectations. "Southern Air" is a continuation of that statement, where Yellowcard puts an assured flag in the sand.
It begins with "Awakening," which boasts the kind of urgency and energy reminiscent of The Starting Line's opening numbers. Then there's "Surface of the Sun" a heavy anthem that buttresses Sean Macklin's violin with both a viola and cello. With some help from brothers-in-arms like Patrick Stump and All Time Low, the overall tone of the album is thoughtfully assertive, as summed up by the lyrics of "Here I Am Alive": "You don't grow up, you just grow old. It's safe to say I haven't done both."
While the opening numbers have all the hooks, the album still manages to close out strong. Among the final act is "Rivertown Blues," riding a chainsaw riff and machinegun drums that recycle some of the wonderful successes of "Ocean Avenue." For salivating shredders out there, there's also a beautifully harmonized guitar solo that bursts as clearly and commandingly as anything they've done to date. While the solo might not be entirely memorable, it packs enough punch to incite a few mosh pits along the next tour.
The song most critics are raving about is "Ten," a track recorded and intended to be acoustic-only from the outset. It's sung from a father to a child that never made it into his life, assumedly through miscarriage. The lyrics stripped and bare, more therapeutic than poetic, and if you do the math, this song very well might be about something that happened to Ryan Key himself; however, as of today, I could not find sources to confirm that.
And while the title track closer "Southern Air" finishes the album with a strong outro riff that reminds me of Silverchair's "Without You" - though it's more likely homage to early-90's Smashing Pumpkins, turn-up-the-Marshall-amps, grunge rock -- the backbone of the album is "Telescope," a postmortem dedication to Aunt Stephanie, an ode to that three thousand mile ride to the west coast. Key seeks some sense of closure here, if that's even possible to be had, and writes about the journey that changed his life, the one that turned a dropout into an power voice in popular music, the kind of thing you only see in movies. Key finds a balanced, resonate mix between hope, despair, plea, and peace in this song, a tough tightrope to tread, indeed:
"Let's just keep driving on,
All the stars jumping in through the windows.
Let's go where we belong,
Headed fast as we can for the unknown."
Where "Southern Air" could fly under the radar for most casual listeners, there's a confidence and maturity here to be relished. Among the gratitude and apologies, and even the touches of remorse, the composition of the album ultimately synthesizes into something beautiful. "Telescope" may or may not be the last tribute song for the woman who helped bring Yellowcard to the music world, but even if it is, don't be surprised if it, too, becomes a set list staple.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By internetguru
Format:MP3 Music|Amazon Verified Purchase
"The Surface of The Sun" kicks the door down with a huge rock sound, one of the more aggressive songs in the Yellowcard catalog. The drums and guitars are big here, and the song shares similarities with a sister track, "Rivertown Blues," later in the sequencing. The latter of these two is more impressive, and is also the uncontested album highlight for me, with a punk-first beat from Parsons and a wailing guitar solo from Ryan Mendez. Parsons goes wild on the drums during the prechorus as Key sings, "You wanna know what I'm thinking? / I think about back then / Back when we built something new / The world was ours to conquer / And we were not afraid to lose ourselves."
As always, Yellowcard throws in a few slower songs to mix up the pacing during the album's 10 tracks, and they each serve a different purpose. "Telescope" is a brooding, building number, reminiscent most of the Paper Walls era, while "Ten" is the emotional highpoint of the album. Key delivers an intensely heartfelt story about a child lost before birth, with so many personal references that an overcoming image is drawn up for the listener. The song is so intimate and so strongly impacted by Mackin's emotive violin underbelly that by the time it's over, you come up for air, gasping for breath - it's Key's strongest effort on an album full of strong efforts. The other midtempo song, the Patrick Stump-co-written "Here I Am Alive," again allows Key's lyrics come to the forefront, this time as he offers insight into the highs and lows of his band's career and hiatus.
"Sleep In the Snow" ignites the middle section of the album, with "A Vicious Kind" providing the back end of an impressive one-two punch. It's in Southern Air's holistic consistency where it actually tops the slightly more sprawling Paper Walls for the top spot in Yellowcard's discography. There's never a dull moment here, and the sequencing is paced as best as possible to provide the most cohesive listen. Earlier on, focus track "Always Summer" packs exactly what it sounds like - essential listening for the hot weather, with Mackin's 23-second violin solo (I savor every second of this, as I've been waiting for a violin solo this awesome for basically this band's whole career) providing the spark. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that "Always Summer" is the most identifying Yellowcard song since "Ocean Avenue."
The title track closes things out here, and the album ends with another killer chorus and a highly enjoyable minute-plus jam session. While the musicianship steals the spotlight on the song, it's hard to resist yelling along to the chorus. Key has said that Yellowcard's time off inspired a lot of the writing for Southern Air, and his time at home with his family played a large role in this. The picture is painted clear on the title track as Key remembers home while belting, "This southern air is all I need / Breathe it in and I can see / Canvases behind my eyes / All the colors of my life / This southern air is in my lungs / It's in every word I've sung / Seems the only truth I know, this will always be home."
The excitement I felt when Yellowcard announced its reunion is nothing compared to the sense of awe I get when I listen to Southern Air. For a band like this to completely put its all into a comeback and not only become a presence in the genre again, but absolutely be even better than they were when they left, is something amazing to witness. Southern Air is Yellowcard's greatest album, and that's something I never could have pictured myself saying a couple years ago when we got word that they were going back into the studio for Say Yes. Paper Walls has long been a top record of mine, and Southern Air bears resemblances to that album in all the best ways. Where When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes was safe at times and perhaps slightly predictable, Southern Air keeps listeners intrigued and invested throughout. This is the best pop-punk album of 2012, and it's a veteran band putting on a clinic for everyone to listen.
A must buy! Great music of fast music and slow. One of the few new cds that you can listen from start to finish!
As always, Yellowcard throws in a few slower songs to mix up the pacing during the album's 10 tracks, and they each serve a different purpose. "Telescope" is a brooding, building number, reminiscent most of the Paper Walls era, while "Ten" is the emotional highpoint of the album. Key delivers an intensely heartfelt story about a child lost before birth, with so many personal references that an overcoming image is drawn up for the listener. The song is so intimate and so strongly impacted by Mackin's emotive violin underbelly that by the time it's over, you come up for air, gasping for breath - it's Key's strongest effort on an album full of strong efforts. The other midtempo song, the Patrick Stump-co-written "Here I Am Alive," again allows Key's lyrics come to the forefront, this time as he offers insight into the highs and lows of his band's career and hiatus.
"Sleep In the Snow" ignites the middle section of the album, with "A Vicious Kind" providing the back end of an impressive one-two punch. It's in Southern Air's holistic consistency where it actually tops the slightly more sprawling Paper Walls for the top spot in Yellowcard's discography. There's never a dull moment here, and the sequencing is paced as best as possible to provide the most cohesive listen. Earlier on, focus track "Always Summer" packs exactly what it sounds like - essential listening for the hot weather, with Mackin's 23-second violin solo (I savor every second of this, as I've been waiting for a violin solo this awesome for basically this band's whole career) providing the spark. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that "Always Summer" is the most identifying Yellowcard song since "Ocean Avenue."
The title track closes things out here, and the album ends with another killer chorus and a highly enjoyable minute-plus jam session. While the musicianship steals the spotlight on the song, it's hard to resist yelling along to the chorus. Key has said that Yellowcard's time off inspired a lot of the writing for Southern Air, and his time at home with his family played a large role in this. The picture is painted clear on the title track as Key remembers home while belting, "This southern air is all I need / Breathe it in and I can see / Canvases behind my eyes / All the colors of my life / This southern air is in my lungs / It's in every word I've sung / Seems the only truth I know, this will always be home."
The excitement I felt when Yellowcard announced its reunion is nothing compared to the sense of awe I get when I listen to Southern Air. For a band like this to completely put its all into a comeback and not only become a presence in the genre again, but absolutely be even better than they were when they left, is something amazing to witness. Southern Air is Yellowcard's greatest album, and that's something I never could have pictured myself saying a couple years ago when we got word that they were going back into the studio for Say Yes. Paper Walls has long been a top record of mine, and Southern Air bears resemblances to that album in all the best ways. Where When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes was safe at times and perhaps slightly predictable, Southern Air keeps listeners intrigued and invested throughout. This is the best pop-punk album of 2012, and it's a veteran band putting on a clinic for everyone to listen.
A must buy! Great music of fast music and slow. One of the few new cds that you can listen from start to finish!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By AdamWez
Format:MP3 Music|Amazon Verified Purchase
Saw that one of my fav bands from the late 90s early 2000s had a new albulm out. I played some samples and liked what I heard so I decided to pick it up. In the last month or so I have picked up some new music. Southern Air from Yellowcard is one of if not my fav. Tracks like Always Summer are in constant rotation. When I am down just put in Here I am alive to get me going from work to work out or personal life. YellowCard just good music thanks!!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Yellowcard Great Band
Another fine performance from Yellowcard, this is not my favorite but is still good. See them in concert if you ever get the chance!
Published 9 days ago by Kato
5.0 out of 5 stars
More of what I love.
I've yet to dislike a Yellowcard album, and this keeps that trend nicely.
It's probably one of their best albums, actually.
Give it a listen, you won't regret it!
It's probably one of their best albums, actually.
Give it a listen, you won't regret it!
Published 11 days ago by Joshua J. Sleeper
5.0 out of 5 stars
flashback to highschool!
I haven't really listened to Yellowcard since high school days so I was interested when this came out. It's a great album! Read more
Published 16 days ago by Colleen Morse
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love it.
I've always been a huge Yellowcard fan and this album didn't disappoint. I've sung myself hoarse with this and it was definitely worth it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Proser
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Album
Let's keep this brief. If you like Yellowcard, I think you'll like this album. Their sound is not the same as it was in their first albums, but who keeps the same sound always? Read more
Published 1 month ago by Cugs
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another amazing album!
Yellowcard seems to be getting better and better. I fell in love with them with the Lights and Sounds album and they've never let me down since.
Published 2 months ago by Jon
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great songs!
Yellowcard is one of my favorite bands, and this CD does not disappoint! Great songs. Only 4 stars because it came in a cheap cardboard case, rather than a more durable plastic... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Jadet18
5.0 out of 5 stars
Christmas present
My daughter is a huge Yellowcard fan and she loves this CD. Personally I haven't listened to it :). Recommend!
Published 3 months ago by softballmom
3.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing special
Yellowcard has not yet replicated the authentic creative energy of their debut album. This album is no worse than recent attempts, but after 3 "just okay" albums, I'm not... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Bad Movie Buff
5.0 out of 5 stars
I summit that it cannot
Fantastic music that sings of endless summers and sleeping in snow all for the magical price of free. Can life get better?
Published 3 months ago by ak.richio
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