Review Summary: Yes.
I had never really seriously listened to Yellowcard's music because the human race only seemed capable of having one never ending, giggling, and frustrating conversation about the band. One conversation that resulted in exaggerated stories of youth, love, adventure, and when they decided to "grow up." It was a conversation that started with "Oh Yellowcard, do you remember "Ocean Avenue?" and ended with some grown man crying about him and Cassidy breaking up on his 14th birthday. Yellowcard's past music had always been a reminder of any moment in anyone's youth: the first time they got kissed, their first beer, the first time they ran away, the first time they screamed at someone of the opposite sex, the first time they used drugs, and the first time they decided to make something of themselves. Yellowcard was a band that reminding everyone of past glory or shame, past loves or past heartbreak, and reminded people of past memories and past mistakes.
The problem with the public perception of Yellowcard though was it always revolved around one word: "past." They were always a band of nostalgia instead of newness, they were always a band of past sounds instead of the band that was moving forward, and they were always a band that reminded people of a "conditional youth utopia" instead of making music that could bring that youthful utopia to even the oldest and most washed up listener. For Yellowcard to break free of the teenage nostalgia of Ocean Avenue they needed a record that was just as emotional, energetic, catchy, important, and most importantly a record that was so new and youthful that it could be the Ocean Avenue for just about any generation.
When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes, is a record so powerful that it makes us forget Yellowcard's past and makes us excited for their limitless future, it is a record so energetic and free that it makes us want to rock out instead of reminisce, it is a record that is so catchy and unique that it can be the soundtrack to any of our future summers, and it is a record that is so youthful that it can make just about anyone feel young and it can be the soundtrack to your new and more meaningful memories. The album is Yellowcard most impressive album yet because it combines the catchiness of their previous efforts with a completely new and rocking sound: "The Sound of You and Me" is the sound of Yellowcard "moving on" from just about everything in their past discography and the song is one of the most catchy, well structured, and rocking songs in Yellowcard's catalog, "For You, And Your Denial" is the most unique and best song in Yellowcard's catalog: it sounds more arena rock than pop punk, it sounds more forceful and futuristic then reflective and nostalgic, and the lyrics are aggressive and angry instead of being sad and hopeless, "Sing For Me" is one of the most beautiful ballads in Yellowcard's catalog, and "With You Around" is a song so catchy that you can listen to at just about any time.
But even though the quality of music on When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes is absolutely stunning for a pop-punk album, the most important aspect of When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes is the newness and energy of the music and the way the music makes you feel. The energy,creative, production, and newness of WYTTSY makes you feel just about every emotion and feeling but one: nostalgia. Instead of being the Ocean Avenue band that reminded you of your first kiss, Yellowcard is now one of the best pop-punk band in the world that will be the soundtrack to all your future kisses. Instead of being the band that reminds you of all your past mistakes, every riff, every gigantic chorus, and every witty lyric on When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes will be the musical algorithm that helps you get over any dumb mistake you make in the future. And instead of being the soundtrack to your past success, When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes is a record so powerful, energetic, and emotional that it could end up being something that motivates you to succeed in the future. The most important thing about WYTTSY is not any melody, song, chorus, riff, or vocal, it is the fact that every melody, song, chorus, riff, and vocal on this album combine to produce an album that doesn't produce a conditional and nostalgic youth, rather a youth that is presented to you right when you decide to listen.
When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes is not only an energetic, profound, powerful, catchy, and excellent album, but it is an album that makes Yellowcard more than a "one conversation" band. When You're Through Thinking Say Yes, is an album that makes Yellowcard more than just a reminder of youth, but a reason to feel youthful again. It is an album that makes sure that Yellowcard will be the "soundtrack" to a lot of our future stories and memories.
