Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

With Paper Walls, Yellowcard has created a consistently solid effort. The only problem? Lack of originality. Most tracks on the album sound unfortunately similar to all other by-the-book pop-punk released by major labels today. Of course I’m sure all Yellowcard fans will say something along the lines of “How can you say they’re by-the-book? They have a full time violinist!” 

True, their violinist, Sean Mackin provides the band with an instrumental angle very few punk bands possess. However, take away the violin and what I hear is very similar to the same, watered down punk MTV has been feeding the public for years. 

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying the new album doesn’t have its moments. I’m just saying musically this album is safe. It doesn’t really introduce new sounds or push the boundaries. It seems like Yellowcard may have become comfortable with what is known and what works instead of taking a risk and pushing themselves to be the best they can be. 

Also, their one defining feature, the violin, gets tangled in many tracks amongst the guitar work, drowning out its attention grabbing effectiveness. The opening track, The Takedown, sounds like a page directly from Blink 182's play book. Some of the best tracks include the anthemic Light Up the Sky and You and Me and One Spotlight.

The title track, also the last track on the album, shows the most originality and promise of any song on the album. It makes you hopeful for what may come in the future from Yellowcard. Starting with a choir it treads water close to My Chemical Romance territory. 

Even if this album is comprised mostly of the same pop-punk we’ve heard a thousand times before, Yellowcard still do it better than most of their comtemporaries, injecting an occasional flash of brilliance into their songs. One thing’s for sure, this album is MTV ready and with the numerous possibilities for singles, Paper Walls should secure Yellowcard a long MTV shelf life.