“During the 6 years that Yellowcard was apart, I was constantly searching for ways to continue my career as a musician and producer, I had the idea to basically do Yellowcard covers featuring friends and artists I’ve had the pleasure of knowing throughout my career," explains YELLOWCARD vocalist/guitarist Ryan Key about A Hopeful Sign, their new collaboration album with the Nashville-based post-rock duo HAMMOCK which is out today February 9, 2024 via Equal Vision. The new album revisits some of the alt-rock band’s most unforgettable songs and revamps them with an ambient and delicate feel. In tandem with the album release today the band shared the focus track "Only One" which takes one of the band’s most iconic sentimental pop-punk anthems and transforms it into a contemplative piano-led ballad.
Wanting to work with artists they are inspired by, this collaboration came to them seamlessly, “Yellowcard is in a new place where we are collaborating with other artists more than ever before,” says Key about this new musical relationship. The first artist to finish a collaboration was Hammock with their reworked version of ‘Empty Street’.” This then began their collaborative spark to piece together A Hopeful Sign.
Reflecting on the tracklist on A Hopeful Sign, he adds, “I still can’t quite believe it’s real, that we were able to create an entire album with a band that has had such a massive influence on us. Whether it is one of our well-known songs or a deeper cut, these versions bring with them completely new interpretations and meanings for listeners who have lived with them for so many years. I have found Hammock in my top three most-played artists every year for nearly a decade now. Hammock are one of the defining and most pioneering artists in the post-rock and ambient space. We have taken so much inspiration from their work over the years so first becoming friends, and then unexpectedly getting to work together on new music were dreams come true.”
The nine-track album takes tracks from 2003’s Ocean Avenue (title track, “Only One”), 2006’s Lights And Sounds (“Waiting Game”), 2007’s Paper Walls (“You And Me And One Spotlight”), 2012’s Southern Air (title track, “Telescope”), 2014’s Lift A Sail (“Transmission Home”) and 2016’s Yellowcard (“Empty Street”, “A Place We Set Afire”). “It is such an honor to have worked on ‘A Hopeful Sign’ with such talented humans, and this record will be something we cherish forever,” says Ryan.
Last month the band performed on Good Morning America on ABC-TV nationwide, and are experiencing a transformative resurgence after their six-year hiatus. With their critically-hailed new EP Childhood Eyes (2023) that ignited a powerful flame, the band played some of the biggest venues of their career last Summer. In addition, the 20th anniversary of their breakthrough album Ocean Avenue generated added momentum, resurrecting the band back into the media spotlight, including coverage in Rolling Stone, People, FORBES, Alternative Press, Consequence of Sound, Brooklyn Vegan, among others.
Certified double platinum in the US by the RIAA, gold in Canada, and silver in the UK, Ocean Avenue solidified Yellowcard’s concrete impact on the music world. The high respect that the album owns has not burned out in the twenty years since its release. Yellowcard's incredible success from their studio albums paired with their powerful live performances secured the band’s legacy in the history of alternative music.
A Hopeful Sign is released today February 9, 2024 via Equal Vision. Yellowcard is Ryan Key (vocals, guitar), Sean Mackin (violin), Ryan Mendez (guitar), and Josh Portman (bass).