YELLOWCARD Collaborates With Ambient Duo HAMMOCK For 'A Hopeful Sign'

“For each of these songs, I just sent over a lead vocal and a piano and Hammock reinvented these songs in way that only they could do,” explains YELLOWCARD vocalist/guitarist Ryan Key about A Hopeful Sign, the new collaboration with the Nashville-based post-rock duo.

Set for release on February 9, 2024 via Equal Vision, the new album revisits some of the alt-rock band's most memorable tracks and reimagines them in a neo-classical and ambient space, deconstructing the songs and rebuilding them as a whole new aural experience. The first single from the album, “Ocean Avenue,” takes the band's signature hit and metamorphosizing the song from a pop-punk anthem to a contemplative and delicate piano-led ballad.

“Yellowcard is in a new place where we are collaborating with other artists more than ever before,” says Key about this new musical partnership. “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.”

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.

During the six 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. The first artist to reply and complete a collaboration was Hammock with their reworked version of ‘Empty Street'.”

The nine-track album pulls 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.

Fresh off of their performance and interview on yesterday's Good Morning America on ABC-TV nationwide, Yellowcard are experiencing an overwhelming rejuvenation for the band after their aforementioned six-year hiatus. With their critically-hailed new EP Childhood Eyes (2023) in hand, the band played some of the biggest venues of their career last Summer.  In addition, the 20th anniversary of their breakthrough album Ocean Avenue afforded the band added momentum, propelling them to back into the media spotlight, including coverage in Rolling Stone, People, FORBES, Alternative Press, Consequence of Sound, Brooklyn Vegan, among others.

TOUR DATES

With Third Eye Blind and ARIZONA
June 8 - Airway Heights, WA at BECU Live at Northern Quest
June 9 - Nampa, ID at Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater
June 13 - Seattle, WA at WAMU Theater
June 14 - Bend, OR at Hayden Homes Amphitheater
June 15 - Mountain View, CA at Shoreline Amphitheatre
June 20 - Los Angeles, CA at Greek Theatre
June 21 - Chula Vista, CA at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
June 22 - Las Vegas, NV at Fontainebleau Las Vegas
June 25 - West Valley City, UT at USANA Amphitheatre
June 26 - Morrison, CO at Red Rocks Amphitheatre
June 28 - Chicago, IL at Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
June 29 - St. Louis, MO at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre - St. Louis
June 30 - Franklin, TN at FirstBank Amphitheater
July 2 - Cincinnati, OH at Riverbend Music Center
July 3 - Buffalo, NY at Darien Lake Amphitheater
July 5 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH at Blossom Music Center
July 6 - Noblesville, IN at Ruoff Music Center
July 7 - Clarkston, MI at Pine Knob Music Theatre
July 9 - Burgettstown, PA at The Pavilion at Star Lake
July 11 - Gilford, NH at BankNH Pavilion
July 12 - Camden, NJ at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
July 13 - Mansfield, MA at Xfinity Center
July 14 - Holmdel, NJ at PNC Bank Arts Center
July 16 - Saratoga Springs, NY at Broadview Stage at SPAC
July 18 - Wantagh, NY at Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
July 19 - Columbia, MD at Merriweather Post Pavilion
July 20 - Virginia Beach, VA at Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
July 21 - Raleigh, NC at Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
July 23 - Charlotte, NC at PNC Music Pavilion
July 25 - Tampa, FL at MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre 
July 26 - Jacksonville, FL at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
July 27 - Alpharetta, GA at Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
July 28 - Birmingham, AL at Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
July 31 - Rogers, AR at Walmart AMP
August 1 - Dallas, TX at Dos Equis Pavilion
August 2 - Austin, TX at Germania Insurance Amphitheater
August 3 - Houston, TX at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion 

Photo credit: Acacia Evans