Embark on a road trip in Yellowcard's new "Awakening" video.

The tour for their previous 2011 record, When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes, found Florida pop-punk kingpins Yellowcard hitting some 30 countries over the course of nine months. So it's no surprise that they've probably got some mixed feelings about life on the road. (They're back at it again in support of this year's Southern Air in Russia at the moment. Jeez, dudes, take a break will you? Except, don't.) That sense of weariness shows up in the animated video for the album's lead track, "Awakening." Because cartoons can feel frustrated and other feelings, too.

Watch Yellowcard's "Awakening" video after the jump.

The clip, directed by Roy Fleeman (who's worked on designs for fellow Warped Tour scene bands like Anarbor and mewithoutYou), and conceived by Yellowcard frontman Ryan Key, is a minimalistic animated look into the long nights and loneliness of the road (that bus looks pretty roomy, though). After making a quick stop to pick up gross junk food (also known as dessert after a ramen noodle dinner), Key is left behind by his bandmates, who don't even realize that he's gone missing. Seems like kind of a jerk move, but OK.

The show, of course, must go on, so Key hitches a ride with a trucker (and his kewt dog buddy), peddles down the highway on a bike he finds, and stows away in the storage bay of another bus. By the time he finally makes it across the country to the club, he's denied access to his own gig. The f***, amirite?

All is not lost in the end, however, because he eventually makes it on stage just in time to play the show.

The video's melancholy tone matches the song's grinding guitar, mournful violins, and pleading vocals. "Bottoms up tonight, I drink to you and I, cause with the morning comes the rest of my life," Key sings.

And another ride to the next city, most likely.

+ Watch Yellowcard's "Awakening" video.

Photo credit: Brian Manley