Ocean Avenue by Yellowcard

Ocean Avenue, Yellowcard's fourth album and their first for a major label, came out on Capitol on July 22, 2003, and it's the sound of a Jacksonville, Florida, pop-punk band trading the basement for the beach. Neal Avron produced the sessions at Sunset Sound in Hollywood early that year, with Ryan Key singing, Ben Harper on guitar, Longineu Parsons III behind the drums and Peter Mosely newly drafted in on bass after Warren Cooke's exit.

What sets it apart from the Blink-182 and Simple Plan records it got lumped in with is Sean Mackin's violin, which saws and soars through the choruses instead of just decorating them, and more than one critic singled it out. "Way Away" led the charge while the band worked the Warped Tour, the sun-bleached rush of "Ocean Avenue" followed, and "Only One" came last. It went platinum in the US, and the years since have only fattened its reputation as a pop-punk high-water mark.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.