Ocean Avenue

Florida pop-punk kings Yellowcard hit the mainstream with 2003's <i>Ocean Avenue</i>. Violinist Sean Mackin sometimes nudges the group in a ballad-friendly direction ("Empty Apartment"), and on "Believe" they take a detour into Irish folk music via his sighing lilt, but by and large Yellowcard are concerned with New Wave-derived, chorus-focussed pop-punk here. The title track finds frontman Ryan Key milking nearly every syllable of the chorus for maximum drama, and the relentlessly upbeat "Breathing" and "Miles Apart" never pause for air.