Yellowcard is an L.A.-based Punk Pop band who formed in 1996 and voluntarily disbanded in 2016. They are best known for their inclusion of a professional violinist in their lineup.
This band contains examples of:
- Call-Back: Possibly in "Life of Leaving Home" to Lights and Sounds."Every song was a snapshot of my life"
- Also, "With You Around" to "Only One"
"Do you remember when I said you were my only one?" - Central Theme:
- Paper Walls: What do you do when you hit rock bottom?
- Yellowcard: Saying goodbye.
- Driven to Dual Suicide: "You and Me and One Spotlight" may be one of the most beautiful examples of this trope ever.
- Early Installment Weirdness: Their first two albums featured a completely different lineup and the music was hardcore rather than punk-pop. They were literally a completely different band in all but name.
- Fond Memories That Could Have Been: "Ten", about the narrator pondering about how his life would be different if his girlfriend had not had a miscarriage. The title comes from how old the child would be if they had been born.
- Grand Finale: Their final album, simply titled Yellowcard, was written to be the band's final one. Every song on it was written as a way to say goodbye.
- "Groundhog Day" Loop: The music video for "Ocean Avenue
" finds the lead singer having to suffer some terrible fates, each one forcing him to repeat the same day, until he gets it right, in a similar reference to the German film Run Lola Run. - Harsh Vocals: Most prominently in "Way Away".
- I Am the Band: Violinist Sean Mackin is the member to be in the band since the beginning. Ryan Key was also a founding member, but quit before their debut album was released before returning.
- Let's Duet: "How I Go".
- Long Title: The album When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes.
- Love Nostalgia Song: "One Year, Six Months" appears to be one, the singer apparently meeting with an ex-lover who has forgotten him.
- Lyrical Dissonance: Often, particularly in "View From Heaven".
- Mohs Scale of Rock and Metal Hardness: Typically between 2 ("One Year, Six Months", "Ten") and 6 ("Way Away", "Breathing").
- New Sound Album: One for the Kids, their third album, completely changes their genre to pop-punk. Lights and Sounds is a milder example, going from pop-punk to alternative. Lift a Sail had a slower, arena rock sound.
- Pop Punk/Punk Rock: They get put into these groups a lot, but have said on occasion that they don't feel "punk" is an accurate description of their musical styles and prefer to put themselves closer to Alternative Rock.
- Punk Opera: The album Lights and Sounds tells the story of a girl named Holly Wood and her experiences in Los Angeles.
- Refrain from Assuming: "One Year Six Months", "Martin Sheen or JFK", "Ocean Avenue", either of the Holly Wood songs... basically, a good idea with this band.
- Revolving Door Band: In particular, they have a lot of trouble holding onto bassists. Their first two albums, released in 1997 and 1999, are the only albums to feature their original lineup; since then, Lights and Sounds (2006) and Paper Walls (2007) are the only other albums to feature all the same band members twice in a row.
- Studio Chatter: At the beginning of "Rough Draft", Ryan can be heard faintly saying, "One, two, three, four..."
- Surprisingly Gentle Song: At least once an album. "One Year Six Months", "How I Go", "Dear Bobbie", "Hang You Up", "Ten", "California", "Wrecking Ball", and "Fields and Fences".
- Take That!: During their tour to promote Ocean Avenue, Ryan would boast a baseball hat which read "Not My President" before the band played "Believe," their tribute to the victims of 9/11.
- Teenage Death Songs: "Two Weeks From Twenty", fitting the trope by, well, two weeks.
- We Used to Be Friends: A recurring theme.
