Reunited after a three year hiatus, Yellowcard will return officially on March 22, 2011 with the release of their brand new album When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes. According to Yellowcard front man Ryan Key, the album is the first the band has recorded that matches the energy of their breakout 2003 release Ocean Avenue. “It was such a collective effort. I think if [ever] there was a record that just energy-wise feels closest to Ocean Avenue, it’s this record,” Key told Alternative Addiction during an interview last week. “I think that is because of how much time we spent together as a whole band, which is similar to the process we used to write Ocean Avenue. I feel like we sort of recaptured a lot of that energy.” Unlike the band’s previous two records, Yellowcard has the luxury of taking their time to record their new album. Coming off of their hiatus and without a major label deal, the band was not pressured to release new music. As a result, the band was able to spend over a year writing and recording the album. “We’ve had time to work on records before, but not like this, and we never had the capability to demo the way we do now,” explained Key. “We were able to go in and record our ideas and really actually fully realize the demos, then pick out the ideas that we loved. As a result, every single track on the record was something that we all agreed upon and felt very passionate about collectively.” The result is an album that captures the unmistakable sound of Yellowcard, but still showcased the band challenging their typical boundaries both lyrically and musically. “I think we stepped outside of the box on a few places on the album, but I also think we wrote a record that was very true to our band, and very true to what we do,” said Key. “We wanted to make something that we loved and knew we were going to feel great about, and also be passionate about playing. But we also wanted to make sure it was a record that fans of our band that are still supporting us would just be beyond stoked to hear.” Lyrically, Key says the album was inspired by events that happened both personally in his life and within the band surrounding their hiatus in 2008. “I think everyone just needed some time to refocus and recharge the batteries,” said Key of the hiatus. “When we got back together, everyone was really excited to be talking about Yellowcard again. I strongly believe that taking a break was really the best thing for all of us.”Now back together, Key couldn’t be happier to be playing Yellowcard music again. “We’re all really focused on making sure we do everything right this time around. We’re all just so excited, it hasn’t felt like this in a lot of years.” When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes is due out on Hopeless records March 22. The first single from the album, “You and Your Denial” is available now at most digital music stores.