Every band has to start somewhere. All those bands you see on MTV2: every single one of them had a crappy demo tape that they gave to their friends and sold at their 7-people-in-attendance shows. It's just that some bands' humble beginnings are made more public than others'.
If you're into pop music or punk music or pop-punk music, then you know who Yellowcard is, and you know what they sound like: catchy pop-punk with the added bonus of a violin player. But before they were on your television or looking all cute plastered on your wall, they were an unknown punk band releasing a record on their own label, Takeover Records. Six years after its initial release, the band, under the Takeover moniker, has reissued Where We Stand, Yellowcard's second full length album.
The focus of this release is to provide history and context for the band and acknowledge their beginnings, including a harder sound and a different lineup. Not much has changed on this version of the record other than an additional scrapbook-style booklet and enhanced-CD material that presents a video history of the band's first years. No unreleased tracks, no remastering. Just the original release by a band of high school kids, complete with original artwork and songs about being angry and smoking pot. Or both.
If you're a Yellowcard fan, you probably already have this. If you're not a fan, then you probably won't care to pick this up. It's rough, it's amateur, but it's a good start.
1.5/4
