Ryan Key and Sean O’Donnell formed a project called Big If after Yellowcard went on hiatus. The two-man band released a series of demos, but Yellowcard came off of its hiatus before there was a formal release. “Hang You Up,” an original fan favorite Big If demos, thankfully made it on to Yellowcard’s new album, When You’re Though Thinking, Say Yes.
 
Not much has changed from the original demo in terms of the music, but the production, improved vocals, and a hint of violin make the once-sing-a-long song a potential hit. Key’s vocals, like on all of Yellowcard’s slower songs, are as soothing as ever under gentile guitar and drum parts, and the emotion behind the song can be felt once Sean Mackin’s violin enters into the song.
 
The song never bores regardless of the chorus’s repetition; the band only hammers in their message as Key powerfully sings, “This is a black and white of you I’ve found // I hang you up and then I pull you down” on top of a violin part that makes you consider just how much Yellowcard has grown in the past four years and how pleasant of a surprise the rest of the album may be.
 
****/*****