Over two decades ago, the world was introduced to Yellowcard as they exploded onto the scene with Ocean Avenue, a record that quickly became an anthem for a generation of emo kids with hearts on their sleeves and headphones glued to their ears. Since then, they’ve released eight studio albums, gone through a breakup and cemented their place in pop-punk history. Now, Yellowcard have announced that their eighth full length record, Better Days, will be out October 10th. During their recent sold-out Australian tour, where they played some of their biggest headlining shows, I had the opportunity to catch up with lead singer William Ryan Key and violinist Sean Mackin to discuss the record- a rare and unforgettable moment to connect with artists who helped shape the soundtrack of a generation.
I was at your Melbourne show, and it was the best- it seems like things are really good within the band right now, you guys seem super happy- how are you all going?
Mackin: “Yeah, this Yellowcard moment is special. Margaret Court Arena for us- there’s so much history there.”
Key: “When you step into the same room where you bombed, and you do the opposite of bombing, you just blow it out-“
Mackin: “Our fans, they showed up for us, and we wanna show up for them. It’s pretty special.”
Back in 2015, you guys played Margaret Court Arena and it didn’t sell out, I know this was a pretty low point within the band, what was going through your heads walking off stage after that show?
Key: “It’s a moment that’s hard to forget because that room is so big. If you think about all of the factors that did lead to us deciding to break up, that’s just one that stands out because it was such a big moment.”
Mackin: “Ryan and I, too, are very aware of the management of our band. So when we look at these venues we’re like, ‘hey, this show, there’s gonna be a little more pressure’. In our band we had a running joke, ‘Does anyone care? Are we sure we’re gonna do this? Who made this call?’ And so we revisited that this year. We saw the venue on the thing, and we were reassured, ‘you guys are gonna be okay’ and we just had to find peace in that.”
How does that compare to what you felt when you walked off the stage on Saturday night?
Mackin: “It was insane.”
Key: “Everything that we’ve done in the past three years has felt that way. Every tour has had multiple mountaintop moments. In ’23 we had a similar moment where we were gonna play this amphitheatre in Jacksonville, Florida, which is where the band is originally from… it was like, ‘man, if 1,500 people show up to this show it’s just gonna be the worst feeling.’ And then the first show sold out, so we put up a second one and we ended up doing 9,000 tickets in Jacksonville. It is so overwhelming to get your head around how and why this is all happening for us, but it’s happening. There’s this happiness and gratefulness and positivity between us that never existed before.”
Let’s chat about new music- I’ve had the pleasure of listening to the two lead singles, “Better Days” and “honestly i” already, and guys, they’re SO good. The balance between your signature sound and keeping it fresh and exciting is perfect- did you guys set out to make this with that in mind?
Key: “We had an amazing producer, that’s it. Travis Barker from Blink, somehow, came into our orbit and wanted to make an album with us, and he is the sole reason that everything you just said was captured. His ability to pull out what we do best, but make us somehow also create this entirely new sound for ourselves at the same time was fascinating to be a part of and to watch. You could be in the moment and be tracking a violin part, or guitar part or be singing- but then you could also watch him do his job with the band and the songs and I literally just watched these songs become these really new, fresh takes on who we are and what we do.”
Mackin: “I think it’s surprising and unsurprising at the same time, as we know Travis is in this place where he’s the greatest drummer of our generation, right? And so you see him and you witness him in that space, but also, to no s surprise, he is able to pull a performance out of someone that he had just met- I’d never done that before, and this was our best performance… whether it was vocals, or melodic or song structure, he is crafting at such a high level, so to have that in the Yellowcard spectrum is just so special for us.”
You said he approached you- how did that come about?
Key: “Our guitarist, Ryan Mendez, was in a band called Staring Back before Yellowcard…Before I was even in Yellowcard, they (Yellowcard) played a show with Staring Back and met Ryan Mendez. Ryan ended up playing guitar for Yellowcard in 2005 and the guy who took his spot in Staring Back was this guy named Nick Long, who has become a wildly successful songwriter- working with everyone from Blink, to Avril, to mgk, and he works with Travis a lot. And so when we went into making an album, it became clear that were going to need to make a full length album. We actually didn’t know if that was ever going to happen, we made an EP in 2023 to test the waters but that was almost more of a business card for the tour, just something to promote with. We made it ourselves, just in a bedroom.
So when it was time to make a full length, I was really honest with everyone and I said, ‘Hey, this just isn’t what I do anymore. I’m trying to get into scoring movies and I make electronic music. I don’t wear a rock and roll hat very often anymore… are we open to maybe working with some buds outside of the band?’ And Ryan Mendez immediately was like, ‘We have to work with Nick Long.’
We originally had just two days set to go up to California and write with Nick, and between the time that we planned that and were actually going, he called Ryan to say, ‘hey, I was talking to Travis, told him I was working with you guys, and he basically just said, ‘bring them to my studio, I wanna write on the sessions.’ And when we got there, he realised that we don’t have a drummer. I think Travis was pretty pumped. We did two demos, and just had the best time, the energy was so good, both songs ripped so we put them both on the album. At the end of that weekend, we were just sitting on a couch in the back of the studio and he says, ‘I wanna do a record with you guys, this has been sick.’ So we left and we were just flipping out in the car on the way to the AirBnB.
Then we were like, ‘How the fuck are we doing this? We don’t even have a record label, he’s not gonna make a record for free, right? So how are we gonna figure this out?’ Anyways, it came together. We found a great partner in the sense of a label, and got to make the record, thanks to Nick. We also worked with our friend Andrew Goldstein, who I’ve been friends for years and have always wanted to write with.”
You guys played “Better Days” live on this recent tour, watching the crowd’s reactions was really special- everyone seemed really excited and into it.
Key: “I don’t think we’ve ever had that reaction a brand new song ever before.”
Mackin: “We are in awe of that, that we are getting this appreciation and people are showing up for us.”
Key: “We’re 45, we’re nine records in, that’s not normal.”
How do you feel about the album’s release at this point? Are there any nerves or are you feeling any pressure about how the album might be received?
Key: “I like to be very honest at this point in my career- I’m terrified. I’m super nervous. I poured my heart into this record so deeply. All the travel we’ve had to do away from our families to go to LA over and over again to record it, and just the anticipation and the hype and energy around Travis being involved, it’s a lot. The difference is just being able to manage it and not fixate on the potential failure or any of that negative shit. Just recognise that you’re nervous about it, let it happen, it’s natural.”
Mackin: “We are in a special place, we’re in a Yellowcard bubble where we have a sense of accomplishment and pride in that before it takes it own shape. This is the safest space right now, it’s just amazing.”
Ocean Avenue is obviously a huge record- you’ve just spend two years celebrating the 20th Anniversary. Do you find yourselves naturally comparing everything you to do to that record? Now that you’ve honoured that milestone, do you feel ready to move forward creatively?
Mackin: “Ryan says a really nice thing inn our show. We appreciate the moment of Ocean Avenue and it has brought up so much joy in our life. I think it would be unfair to compare everything in that moment. However, we’re at a place in all of our lives where we are truly appreciating those songs. And we can make a choice and say ‘hey, that’s enough, we’ve had enough.’ Or we can continue to try and be the best Yellowcard that we can. Every night, realising over the years how fragile this is and getting to share that- we’re not phoning it in and we’re choosing to say, ‘we want to be the best and share this moment with our audience.’ And just like you saw, everyone at Margaret Court, they showed up. From start to finish, it felt like it was jus trading, it’s felt like that in all the cities and it’s just so special.”
Do you think this upcoming record is your best yet?
Key: “I do.”
Mackin: “I think there’s a lot for Yellowcard fans to be excited about.”
Yellowcard are without a doubt in an extremely healthy place right now as a band, their live shows are thriving and the chemistry in the studio is unmatched. Their ninth full-length album, Better Days is out October 10th. You can listen to the lead singles “Better Days” and “honestly i” wherever you stream.
Photo credit: Joe Brady
