REVIEW: Yellowcard - Better Days

Originally hailing from Jacksonville, Florida, YELLOWCARD became one of the most influential alternative pop punk bands in the 2000s, leaving an incredible mark on the scene after selling over 4 billion albums worldwide and gaining over one billion streams. After disbanding in 2017 and leaving fans heartbroken, they later reunited in 2022 to embark on a new musical journey. Now, in 2025, they're releasing their highly anticipated comeback album Better Days.

On this album YELLOWCARD have both revisited their old sound as well as leant into their classic pop punk sound. Better Days kicks off with the title track, an exceptionally good start to the album. The song reminds us of the 2000s pop punk scene that YELLOWCARD have their roots in, and immediately we're impressed. Chanting into the next song Take What You Want, this track has an incredibly catchy chorus that you will without a doubt have stuck in your head for days. The repetition on the lines “Say what you want,” “Take what you want,” and “Give all I’ve got” leaves a profound impact and has us catching ourselves singing the song throughout the day without even realising. The next track Love Letters Lost features MATT SKIBA of ALKALINE TRIO - their voices are perfect together, coming together to create this beautiful track filled with outstanding vocals and insane guitar riffs that really bring the song together. With it being one of the faster songs on the album, MATT SKIBA was definitely the right choice for a track feature.

honestly i is filled with impactful lyrics alongside the passionate, hope filled vocals - here, RYAN KEY delivers us a song that touches the depths of our soul. To us, this song is about being “saved” by love and feeling stuck in the circle of life until that one person comes into the picture - then suddenly you feel the most alive you’ve ever felt. It truly is a beautiful feeling and the song captures every bit of it. Halfway through the album we have a feature from AVRIL LAVIGNE on the song You Broke Me Too. This song is a slower one, and AVRIL comes into it perfectly with her angelic voice, really adding to the song's overall emotion. Towards the end, her and RYAN's voices harmonise together to create the perfect ending.

City Of Angels starts with a slow build up leading to a soul-crushing solo, but the mood quickly switches with an upbeat sound taking over the overall feel of the song. Although the lyrics stay the same, your mood feels elevated and that feels like the message this song is trying to give; feeling lost until that person comes into your life and suddenly everything changes, everything feels brighter. “Tear down my bedroom posters, don’t say those days are over”. These lyrics are sure to be on a loop in your head. Bedroom Posters is an incredibly catchy song with more of a pop vibe to it, and we can already imagine ourselves dancing around our rooms to this song. 

Skin Scraped starts off with a mellow beat before the guitar picks up and keeps a steady riff as the vocals are introduced. Similarly to Bedroom Posters, this song also has a pop feel to it with some isolated vocals added in which really adds to the song. Once again the chorus really stands out - it makes you want to just get up and dance. These two songs are excellent to just let go to. Barely Alive touches the inner depths of your soul with its lyrics, the song curated to go through your emotions to and let it all out. This track is a heartbreaking one - about losing the person previously mentioned in honestly i; the one who came into your life and made you feel alive.

Lastly, the song that ties it all up and brings the album to an end is Big Blue Eyes. It's a slower song, giving us a bittersweet ending to this album, but nonetheless we can’t help but feel happy and proud at how far this band has come over the years. They have really outdone themselves once again with this album. It is truly a special listen, with themes of love and heartbreak that many people around the world will relate to. This release was highly anticipated, and many fans were incredibly excited for it - and for good reason, because YELLOWCARD has not let us down yet.

Score: 9/10

Better Days was released on 10th October 2025 via Better Noise Music. 

Words: Kelsey Mainwaring

Photos: Yellowcard