When platinum-selling alt-rock band YELLOWCARD announced a reunion show in 2022 for Riot Fest in Chicago, IL, no one predicted (not even the band) that they would do anything more than just that one show. But as anticipation and excitement built on both sides of the Atlantic with follow-up bookings at London’s Underworld (May 26, 2022) and Slam Dunk Festival (May 27-28, 2022) with record audiences, it became clear to the band that their internal chemistry was back in creative balance and their fans wanted more. With the release of their new EP Childhood Eyes (release date: July 21, 2023 via Equal Vision), they gave not only their fans something to look forward to but also themselves the confidence that this is exactly what was needed for them as a band.
The five songs that make up Childhood Eyes capture the spirit and essence of Paper Walls —its powerful yet tender anthems, its open-hearted emotional vulnerability, its sense of wide-eyed wonder against the odds—but they’re also riddled with the band’s experiences of the decade and a half since it came out. From the breakneck speed of “Three Minutes More” which features Pierce the Veil’s Vic Fuentes to the gorgeously plaintive final track “The Places We’ll Go” which features Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabba (“When he comes in on that last chorus and you can really hear that Dashboard ripping grit in his voice, it’s just awesome,” says Key), the EP is a testament of a band re-finding its footing after a number of years apart.
Distorted Sounds says of the EP, “Childhood Eyes is dripping with pop-punk nostalgia, catchy rhythms, and a sound like they’d never even been on hiatus… Childhood Eyes just proves that these guys have stood the test of time as the tracks don’t feel out of time or place.” Sputnik Music gives the EP 4 out o f 5 stars, saying “Childhood Eyes has far exceeded expectations… Long may it last!” The Aquarian proclaims, “Yellowcard has finally returned and, man, is their comeback a massive one.” Substream sums it up nicely: “From the first playthrough of the band’s Equal Vision Records debut it becomes clear that this isn’t just a reunion; the five song EP is a succinct statement that Yellowcard is back.”
As a companion to the release of their EP, they announced a full-scale North American tour (their first since 2017) which finds them in front of their largest crowds ever as a headliner. At their sold-out NYC show at The Rooftop at Pier 17 earlier this month, Digital Journal reported on the audience’s reaction and said, “their presence was met with a raucous response from the Big Apple crowd.” V13 lauded their performance at their packed-to-the-gills Philadelphia show saying, “You could feel the energy amp up as people yelled with excitement as each band member took their place. It was as if Yellowcard never missed a beat.” Yellowcard still has 20 shows remaining in their landmark routing, finding them in Jacksonville, FL this evening for their first or two shows at Daily’s Place Amphitheater. Dates in Texas, California, Seattle, Denver, and back to the East Coast are upcoming (tour dates below).
Yellowcard is Ryan Key (vocals, guitar), Sean Mackin (violin), Ryan Mendez (guitar), and Josh Portman (bass). CHILDHOOD EYES is released today (July 21, 2023) via Equal Vision on July 7, 2023 digitally and in limited edition vinyl and CD.
tracklisting
Three Minutes More (feat. Vic Fuentes of Pierce The Veil)
Childhood Eyes
Hiding In The Light
Honest From The Jump
The Places We’ll Go (feat. Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional)
TOUR DATES
^ signifies dates with Mayday Parade
* signifies dates with Story of the Year
# signifies dates with Anberlin
+ signifies dates with Emo Night Brooklyn DJ set
All dates with This Wild Life
Tickets On Sale HERE
Jul 21 Jacksonville, FL Daily’s Place ^*+
Jul 22 Jacksonville, FL Daily’s Place ^*+
Jul 23 Tampa, FL Yuengling Center ^*+
Jul 25 Houston, TX 713 Music Hall ^*
Jul 26 Austin, TX Stubbs Waller Creek Amphitheater +
Jul 27 Irving, TX The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory ^#
Jul 29 Phoenix, AZ Arizona Financial Theatre ^#+
Jul 30 Los Angeles, CA YouTube Theater ^#+
Aug 01 San Diego, CA Petco Park – Gallagher Square ^#
Aug 02 San Francisco, CA Bill Graham Civic Auditorium ^#+
Aug 04 Seattle, WA WAMU Theater ^#
Aug 05 Garden City, ID Revolution Concert House & Event Center +
Aug 06 Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheatre ^#+
Aug 08 Denver, CO Levitt Pavilion Denver ^#+
Aug 10 Indianapolis, IN TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park ^*+
Aug 12 Pittsburgh, PA Four Chord Music Festival ~
Aug 13 Worcester, MA Palladium Outdoors ^*+
Aug 15 Hershey, PA GIANT Center ^*+
Aug 17 Syracuse, NY St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview ^*+
Aug 18 Portland, ME Cross Insurance Arena ^*+