Yellowcard colors itself daring

The band took a gamble on its latest effort, which comes out this week.
By JOHN BENSON
vindicator correspondent
For Yellowcard bassist Pete Mosley, Sin City isn't what it's cracked up to be.
"I don't like this place," said Mosley, calling from a Las Vegas hotel. "I always kind of consider it a very poor showing for humanity. It's always great for 48 hours, and then you're like, 'OK, I'm out. I just have to get away.'"
Considering the somewhat transitory nature of bands in the pop-punk/pop-rock vein today, Mosley's opinion is telling.
In some ways the members of Yellowcard, which found double-platinum success with its crunchy guitar, whiny vocal and violin-infused 2003 major label debut "Ocean Avenue," find themselves undefined, but definitely in the spotlight, on the music industry red carpet.
'Lights and Sounds'
Invariably, Yellowcard is still experiencing its initial honeymoon of fame.
Whether you want to call it 48 hours or 15 minutes, the crystal ball remains hazy for this Vans Warped-outfit, which releases its sophomore effort "Lights and Sounds" this week.
"With certain parts of 'Ocean Avenue' being successful, we kind of got plagued with this category of what kind of music we were and what kind of band we were," Mosley said. "And granted, it's probably justified but that record was kind of written for that time, and I think approaching this record we kind of have our heads out of the water and we kind of saw we had the ability at this point to make a record that's ... we had the means to really go out and create something that we really haven't done yet."
Calculated digression
Gone are the easy-sell poppy tracks -- in the vein of the band's 2004 hit single "Ocean Avenue" -- with more mature themes and intricate songwriting perhaps challenging the band's youthful fan base.
This includes the jazzy anti-war track "Two Weeks from Twenty" and the grandiose "How I Go," which includes a 25-piece backing orchestra. Make no mistake, this digression is a calculated move by a group hoping not to fall into the cracks of obscurity.
What may on the surface appear as desperation is being characterized by Mosley as a proactive attempt at creating a future for the band rather than living off its past.
Yellowcard will find out soon enough whether its gamble paid off, touring "Lights and Sounds" this winter in smaller venues, including a Sunday show at The Odeon Concert Club.
So far the album's high-energy title track and lead single is doing well at radio but Mosley understands all of the cards have yet to revealed.
"We couldn't be happier with what we've done, whether it's 10 records or 10 million records [sold], we've created something that makes us feel complete about it," Mosley said. "But there's always fear. We're anxious to see how the record is going to be received and if we can match or top what we've already done. You don't want to rise to the top and fall straight back to the bottom."