Ocean Avenue (album)
Ocean Avenue is the fourth studio album by American rock band Yellowcard. It was released on July 22, 2003, through Capitol Records. After touring to promote their third studio album "One for the Kids" in 2001, the band signed to the label in early 2002. Following this, bassist Warren Cooke left the band in mid-2002, and was replaced by Inspection 12 guitarist Peter Mosely. In February and March 2003, the band recorded at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California, with Neal Avron. "Ocean Avenue" is a pop-punk and punk rock album, which was compared to Blink-182 and  Simple Plan. Before Yellowcard's promotional tour of "Ocean Avenue", Mosely was replaced by Alex Lewis. Yellowcard appeared on the Warped Tour, during which "Way Away" was released as the album's lead single on July 22, 2003. The band went on a club tour of the United States, before going on tour with Less Than Jake and Fall Out Boy. "Ocean Avenue" was released as the second single on December 16, 2003. Lewis was kicked out the band and replaced by Mosely before a co-headlining tour with Something Corporate and a stint in Europe. "Only One" was release  as the third single in June 2004; they toured Europe, Australia, and Japan. "Believe" was released as the fourth single in September 2004, which was followed by a US tour. "Ocean Avenue" received mostly positive reviews from music critics, some of whom commented on Sean Mackin's violin playing and the catchy nature of the songs. The album peaked at number 23 on the US "Billboard" 200, as well as number 8 in New Zealand, and number 149 in the UK. The album was certified platinum in the US by the RIAA, gold in Canada by Music Canada, and silver  in the UK by the BPI. "Way Away" and "Only One" appeared high on the US Alternative Airplay chart; "Ocean Avenue" peaked at number 37 on the US Hot 100, and within the top 100 in Scotland and the UK alongside "Way Away". "Ocean Avenue" was certified gold in the US by the RIAA. Background and production. In April 2001, Yellowcard released their third studio album "One for the Kids" through Lobster Records. It was promoted with a tour of the southern United States with Inspection 12, and a two-week tour of the US West Coast with Bordem. Yellowcard  had moved from Florida to California, with the hopes of someone from a label would be attached to them. By April 2002, it was reported that the band had signed to Capitol Records, one of a few major labels who showed interest. In June and July 2002, the band appeared on Warped Tour, which coincided with the release of the band's second EP "The Underdog EP" on July 2, through Fueled by Ramen. Capitol Records had licensed the EP to Fueled by Ramen as not to lose the band punk credibility. Two days after its release, bassist Warren Cooke  left the band, citing personal reasons. His spot was temporarily filled by members of other acts on the tour, Home Grown and the Starting Line. On July 21, 2002, Inspection 12 guitarist Peter Mosely joined Yellowcard as their bassist. In October and November 2002, the band supported No Use for a Name on their headlining US tour, and played a few shows with the Starting Line and Park. In February 2003, the band played a handful of west coast shows with Park and Stole Your Woman. Sessions for "Ocean Avenue" were held at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California, in February  and March 2003. Neal Avron produced and recorded the album with assistance from engineers Ryan Castle and Travis Huff. Tom Lord-Alge mixed the recordings at South Beach Studios in Miami Beach, Florida, with assistance from Femio Hernandez, before the album was mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in New York City. Composition. The sound of "Ocean Avenue" has been described musically as pop-punk and punk rock, and drew comparisons to Blink-182 and Simple Plan. The album's title refers to a street in the band's hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, where they had they spent some of  their childhood. Between signing to Capitol and recording, the band spent a period of time writing new material in several studios. Key typically comes up with a melody line and a chord progression, which he then shows to the rest of the band, who build upon it from this bare form. They experimented with country and folk-stylized rock in songs like "Empty Apartment", "View from Heaven", and "One Year, Six Months". Mosely played bass on every track, except for "Only One", which was done by Key. Mosely also played piano on "Empty Apartment" and "Only One", and added vocals . Christine Choi and Rodney Wirtz played cello and viola, respectively, on "Way Away", "Breathing", "Empty Apartment", "Only One", and "Believe"; violinist Sean Mackin and Avron wrote the string arrangement. The opening track "Way Away" is about a person leaving their home and finding their own way in life. "Ocean Avenue" is anchored around a distorted staccato punk rock guitar riff; in the song's lyrics, Key uses the person he is singing to as a metaphor for Jacksonville. The song was inspired by Ocean Boulevard, a road in Jacksonville. In "Life of a Salesman", Key talks about how he will  act as a father by following his own father's example. "Only One" was written partway through the recording sessions, and Key said the lyrics were influenced by "a weird breakup". He explained it was "one of those where I felt like I had to do it, even though she didn't do anything wrong". "Twentythree" is about growing up, and the country-influenced song "View from Heaven", with additional vocals from Alieka Wijnveldt, discusses the death of a girlfriend. "Believe" is an homage to emergency service members who died in the September 11 attacks. The penultimate track, "One Year , Six Months", is an acoustic ballad that is followed by "Back Home", which is about the things a person leaves behind in "Way Away". Release. In March 2003, Mosely left the band citing personal reasons and was replaced by Alex Lewis, who was best friends with Harper and Mackin. On May 4, 2003, "Ocean Avenue" was announced for release in two months' time. Key had injured his jaw, which required surgery; the band went on tour with Lagwagon while Peter Munters from Over It temporarily filled in for Key. Between mid-July and early August 2003, the group appeared on  the Warped Tour. "Ocean Avenue" was eventually released on July 22, 2003, through Capitol Records after it was originally scheduled to be released on July 8. The artwork features a blurry photo of a high school girl in front of a setting sun in California. The album was released as an enhanced CD in some countries, which included a video entitled "The Making of "Ocean Avenue"" and a music video for "The Underdog EP" track "Powder". The Japanese edition included "Firewater", "Hey Mike", and the acoustic versions of "Way Away" and "Avondale" as bonus tracks; "Way Away" was released on  radio the same day. The CD version included "Hey Mike" and an acoustic version of "Avondale". Key felt it was a "little more tough, a little more edgy" choice as the album's first single, wanting to avoid being seen as a poppy band. After the band finished performing on the Warped Tour in August, it went on a club tour in the US that was followed by a few radio show appearances. The music video for "Way Away" premiered on "The O.C." on September 2, 2003. In October 2003, Yellowcard appeared at Shocktoberfest and on "IMX" before playing a  handful of shows later that month. In November, the band went on a US tour with Less Than Jake and Fall Out Boy, and performed on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" "Ocean Avenue" was played on radio December 16, 2003. They opened 2004 with a Canadian tour with Eve 6 and Jersey. On March 3, 2004, the band appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno". Around this time, Lewis was kicked out of the band and replaced by Mosely. In March and April 2004, the band went on a co-headlined a US tour with Something Corporate, and was supported by  Steriogram and the Format. The band later toured Europe in May 2004 with Less Than Jake and the A.K.A.s. On May 18, 2004, Yellowcard appeared on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien". "Way Away" was released as a single in the UK on May 31, 2004. In June 2004, "Only One" was released as a single; the CD version included an AOL Session version of "View from Heaven" and a live version of "Miles Apart". The music video for "Only One" was directed by Phil Harder and was filmed prior to the European tour. According to Key, the video was "a  love story that is surrounded by a lot of chaos and confusion". After appearing at the main stage on Warped Tour, the band performed at the MTV Video Music Awards. They played a few European shows with New Found Glory before embarking on tours in Australia and Japan. "Ocean Avenue" was released as a single in the UK on September 6, 2004; the CD version included "Firewater", an acoustic version of "Way Away", and the music video for "Ocean Avenue". The video sees a woman steal something from Key, who then proceeds to chase her; he is in turn being  chased by too villains, played by Mackin and Parsons. Around this time, "Believe" was released as a single to honor the anniversary of the September 11 attacks. In October and November 2004, the band went on a six-week tour of the US. Reissues and related releases. In November 2004, the live/video album "Beyond Ocean Avenue: Live at the Electric Factory" was released. It featured footage from a show earlier in the year, as well as a documentary on the history of the band. "Ocean Avenue" was pressed on vinyl for the first time in 2011 through Hopeless Records , individually and as part of the box set "2002–2011 Collection". It was re-pressed by Hopeless Records in 2014, and by Field Day Records in 2021. In 2013, the band released an acoustic version of the album, "Ocean Avenue Acoustic", in honor of the album's tenth anniversary. The band toured the acoustic album later in 2013 and again in early 2014. "Way Away", "Ocean Avenue", "Empty Apartment", "Life of a Salesman", "Only One", and "Believe" were included on the band's first compilation album "Greatest Hits" (2011). Critical reception. "Ocean Avenue" received mixed to positive reviews from music critics . "The Spokesman-Review" writer Cameron Adamson was initially sceptical of the use of violin, but "was pleasantly surprised"; as he listened to more of the album, he noted that the "energy that is felt from the start never dies". AllMusic reviewer MacKenzie Wilson wrote that the album "delivers despite of its catchy recipe", with Mackin's "impressively skilled" violin playing that helped Yellowcard "in making something sound original and fresh". Brad Maybe of "CMJ New Music Report" noted that the band set themselves apart with Mackin's violin; the album had "giant hooks and undeniably catchy choruses", which were "propelled  to monstrous levels" by the violin. IGN's Nick Madsen wrote that as integral was Key's vocals and Harper's guitar were to the band, Mackin's violin was "more than just a gimmick and absolutely should not be written off as one". He called the album a "solid and consistent record that has made a believer out of [him]". "Entertainment Weekly" writer Joe Caramanica said the band laid "somewhere between A Simple Plan and blink-182, which is to say they're resilient enough not to whine, but too young to have a reason to anyhow". He added that  Key "wails every song without a hint of stylistic variation, subject matter be damned." Elizabeth Bromstein of "Now" wrote that there was "a certain amount of drive" to the album, which offered "some neat guitar sounds as well as some nice arrangements". "PopMatters" contributor Stephen Haag said the album "arrives at a time when pop punk's audience is maturing beyond the typical puerile fare that too many bands offer." He added that the band with their violin parts "aren't entirely the answer to what is ailing pop punk, but they're not part of the problem either". The  staff at "DIY" said that the opening track could lead the listener to think of the album as "just another punk rock CD." In spite of Mackin's violin giving the band some diversity from their peers, there was "still a fair share of bog standard punk rock, run of the mill stuff". "Drowned in Sound" reviewer Nick Lancaster dismissed Yellowcard as "merely the latest band to hop off the boy-band-punk conveyor belt for their fifteen minutes of minor fame", though he wrote that it was "[n]ever actively bad, but offensive in its lack of imagination and drive . Commercial performance and accolades. Ocean Avenue" peaked at number 23 on the US "Billboard" 200, and has sold 1.8 million copies in the US. It also charted at number 8 in New Zealand, and number 149 in the UK. It reached number 52 on the year-end "Billboard" 200 for 2004. The album was certified platinum in the US by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), gold in Canada by Music Canada, and silver in the UK by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). "Way Away" charted at number 25 on Alternative Airplay. Outside of the US, it reached number  63 in the UK and number 66 in Scotland. "Ocean Avenue" charted at number 13 on Mainstream Top 40, number 21 on Adult Top 40 and Alternative Airplay, number 37 on Hot 100, and number 38 on Radio Songs. Outside of the US, the song charted at number 34 in New Zealand, number 61 in Australia, and number 65 in Scotland and the UK. It was certified double platinum in the US by the RIAA. "Only One" charted at number 15 on Alternative Airplay, number 22 on Bubbling Under Hot 100, and number 28 on Mainstream Top 40. It was  certified gold in the US by the RIAA. The music video for "Ocean Avenue" was nominated for Best New Artist in a Video and MTV2 Award at the MTV Video Music Awards. It has appeared on various best-of pop-punk album lists, being featured on lists by A.Side TV, BuzzFeed, "Kerrang!", "Loudwire", "Rock Sound", and "Rolling Stone". "Ocean Avenue" is featured on Billboard's list of the "100 Greatest Choruses of the 21st Century" and Cleveland.com's list of the top 100 pop-punk songs. Track listing. All songs written are by Yellowcard and Mosely. Personnel. Adapted credits from  the liner notes of "Ocean Avenue". Yellowcard Additional musicians Production and design