Review Summary: Toss Yellowcard's debut onto the floor like you would a person with a height disadvantage.
It's always interesting to revisit a band's earlier works to see how much they've progressed since their first outing. Sometimes, the sound of a group’s freshman effort is so drastically different from the work that they’re known for that it’s pretty hilarious to listen to it. Before Pantera were a driving force of the 90s thrash scene, they were nothing more than Mötley Crue knockoffs, and before Yellowcard were making pop-punk anthems like “Only One”, the Floridian quintet were young and inexperienced, blending their talents on the violin with hardcore punk influenced vocals and production. The band’s sound on
Midget Tossing and their sophomore effort
Where We Stand is completely different from what they’re known for. So much has changed since this album was released that it doesn’t even sound like Yellowcard – there aren’t any anthemic choruses or soaring vocal performances, and the use of violin is limited to a few tracks.
At the time of
Midget Tossing’s release, Ryan Key was a mere 17 year-old in high school, with the position of lead singer delegated to Ben Dobson. Needless to say, the two vocalists have completely disparate singing styles. Whereas Key soared as he sang, giving off a very passionate aura, Dobson’s rough and raspy growling suits the album’s hardcore punk sound. The main problem with his vocals is that they lack energy and emotion, which is essential for the genre – just ask Ian MacKaye or Henry Rollins. For most of the album, Dobson sounds bored or tired when he sings, resulting in a very unmemorable experience.
The production on
Midget Tossing seems nonexistent – as soon as the opening chords of “2 Quarts” kick in, it’s clear that this record was probably made inside the basement of guitarist Ben Harper, who founded the record label that signed Yellowcard back in ’97. All the bass lines and drum fills seemingly blend together to form one huge wall of noise, and at times, distinguishing between the instruments becomes nearly impossible. Harper does let out some pretty rockin’ riffs on songs like “Sue” and “Someday”, but they’re drowned out by the amateur production and uninspired vocals.
Even with all its flaws, there are still some signs of promise on
Midget Tossing. “Me First” is the album’s highlight – Dobson manages to inject some energy into his normally uninterested rough vocals, and Sean Mackin finally gets a chance to shine with his wonderful violin solo. All the instruments sound well together for a change, and compared to the rest of the album, the production is on the better side. The experimental “Interlewd” is a nice break from all the franticness, even if it is awkwardly placed towards the end of the album. The amalgamation of nothing but violin and guitar is one that would later be expanded on in later albums to include the full band. “Uphill Both Ways” manages to have some pretty nice melodic harmonies between Dobson and rhythm guitarist Todd Clary (who lays down some pretty jamming riffs); the track would be even better if it was trimmed down a minute.
Despite some half-decent tracks,
Midget Tossing is let down more times than not by its shoddy production and monotonous vocal delivery. The album’s punk sound could have been pulled off better with a more powerful singer, one who could actually sing
like he meant it. Harper’s riffs are decent; they would have had a better chance to shine if telling the different instruments together wasn’t such a chore. As a practically unknown underground band, it’s really not that surprising that Yellowcard’s debut suffers from such poor presentation. The group’s hardcore-influenced sound isn’t what drags the album down, it’s the way that it was put together. Once Ryan Key joined the group to from the Yellowcard we know today, all of the band’s flaws were fixed. Maybe his arrival was a sign of things to come.
