It truly was never a phase, mom. Tallahassee native emo pop-punk band Mayday Parade is celebrating 20 years together while somehow still producing incredible music. Their latest album Sad, which is the second installment of their 20th anniversary album trilogy, following Sweet released earlier this year, delivers an eight track mini album of purposeful melancholy greatness. The album showcases their well established roots while displaying a deepening maturity in their sound and lyricism. A thought provoking walk down memory lane, but with the wisdom of two decades under their belt.
Photo Credit: Eli Ritter (@eazyeli) Derek Sanders, Alex Garcia, Brooks Betts, Jeremy Lenzo, Jake Bundrick (current lineup since 2007)
Emo and pop-punk music is incredibly nostalgic for all of us who were covering our faces with a black hoodie and eyeliner in adolescence and early adulthood, and Mayday Parade is the epicenter. Sad is a testament to the genre itself, with its ability to transport you back to those overwhelming, and often times painful, feelings in 2005, while maintaining the maturity and balance that Mayday Parade is bringing with them into this new decade. Produced with long-time collaborators Zack Odom and Kenneth Mount, Sad is a masterpiece of introspection, deep lyricism, melancholy ballads, punchy hooks and anthemic choruses demonstrating their dynamic range they have been carefully crafting for 20 years.
The album blasts off with chugging electric guitar, slamming drums, and synth sounds accompanied by the iconic dynamic vocals of Derek Sanders in “Its Not All Bad.” I immediately cranked the volume as soon as this song kicked off, knowing exactly what I was getting myself into. A nod to “Jaime All Over,” perhaps. Leading right into “Under My Sweater,” which is another gut punching pop-punk anthem with a sharp hook and catchy chorus. “Under My Sweater” was the first single off of Sad released this summer along with an official music video.
The album begins to slow down with track three, “Promises,” a devastatingly honest song written by drummer/vocalist Jake Bundrick, who shared “I was on a ledge and in a terrible situation life threw at me with something I loved. The news was never good or better and I kept making myself believe it would eventually be. I felt alone even though I was sharing those same feelings with my wife. We had to make choices without knowing if they would make the situation better or worse. Sadly, nothing worked. The verses are about the morning it all went south. I haven’t been the same since.” You can feel the pain bursting out of every note, especially as Derek’s vocals build and eventually explode in the second half of the track.
The album continues with “I Miss The 90’s,” opening with the classic Mayday Parade piano we all fell in love with in “Miserable At Best” before kicking up the beat with guitar and drums. It’s an anthemic song about the pain of growing up and changing, how we yearn for things that used to feel so easy and carefree when we were younger. This is followed by “One Day At A Time,” another melancholy ballad about heart break and letting go, released as a single in September.
“In Every Way, Shape Or Form” picks you back up off the floor with upbeat pop-punk guitar and thumping drums, although it is not without depth. It’s a head-banging pop-punk anthem about missing someone you love deeply from your past that has you belting out the introspection you feel about an impossible love. This track is followed by “Breakup Song,” which is a tongue-in-cheek upbeat track about the exhaustion of a love that has been trailing off for far too long, a mutual decision based on just being too tired of trying, leading to indifference. The album ends with “I Must Obey The Inscrutable Exhortations Of My Soul.” This song is a like a cinematic masterpiece, a story written with layers, twists and turns, an exciting thrill ride leaving you wanting and needing more.
Mayday Parade is not just a band. They are emo trailblazers who truly have crafted 20 years worth of art, rather than chasing trends and clout. They have stuck to their roots, which have only deepened as they have matured and fine tuned their sound. All three part of their anniversary trilogy are self-released, which we have not seen from Mayday Parade since 2006 when they were selling their debut EP in Vans Warped Tour parking lots. Thrilled is an understatement for what I feel about the upcoming and final part of the trilogy, which really feels like a full circle moment for such an iconic band.
Not only is Mayday Parade releasing album after album, but they are also hitting the road for a massive North American and international tour with All Time Low. Be sure to grab your tickets as soon as possible, if you haven’t already, and get ready to sing-scream your emo heart out.
Upcoming Mayday Parade Tour Dates
October 11 @ Steelhouse Omaha in Omaha, NE+
October 12 @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver, CO+
October 14 @ WAMU Theatre @ Lumen Field in Seattle, WA+
October 16 @ The Union Event Center in Salt Lake City, UT+
October 18th @ When We Were Young Festival in Las Vegas, NV
October 19th @ When We Were Young Festival in Las Vegas, NV
October 21 @ San Jose Civic in San Jose, CA+
October 22 @ YouTube Theatre in Inglewood, CA+
October 23 @ Arizona Federal Theatre in Phoenix, AZ+
October 25 @ South Side Ballroom in Dallas, TX+
October 26 @ Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, TX+
October 28 @ The Factory in St. Louis, MO+
October 29 @ Vibrant Music Hall in Waukee, IA+
October 31 @ The Sylvee in Madison, WI+
November 2 @ 20 Monroe Live in Grand Rapids, MI+
November 3 @ The Fillmore in Detroit, MI+
November 5 @ HISTORY in Toronto, ON+
November 7 @ KEMBA Live! in Columbus, OH+
November 8 @ The Andrew J Brady Music Center in Cincinnati, OH+
November 11 @ Avondale Brewing Company in Birmingham, AL+
November 12 @ Coca-Cola Roxy in Atlanta, GA+
November 14 @ War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdale, FL+
November 15 @ The BayCare Sound in Clearwater, FL+
November 16 @ Camping World Stadium Campus/Warped Tour in Orlando
November 18 @ The Dome in Virginia Beach, VA+
November 19 @ UPMC Events Center in Coraopolis, PA+
November 21 @ The Met in Philadelphia, PA+
November 22 @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston, MA+
November 23 @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston, MA+
November 24 @ Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, NY+
November 25 @ Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, NY+
November 26 @ The Anthem in Washington, DC+
November 28 @ Buffalo RiverWorks in Buffalo, NY+
November 29 @ Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre, PA+
January 20 @ OVO Hydro in Glasgow, UK+
January 22 @ Utilita Arena Cardiff in Cardiff, UK+
January 23 @ Co-op Live in Manchester, UK+
January 24 @ The O2 in London, UK+
January 26 @ Salle Pleyel in Paris, France+
January 27 @ Ancienne Belgique in Brussels, Belgium+
January 29 @ 013 in Tilburg, Netherlands+
January 30 @ Haus Auensee in Leipzig, Germany+
January 31 @ Sporthalle in Hamburg, Germany+
February 2 @ Fryshuset Arenan in Stockholm, Sweden+
February 3 @ Sentrum Scene in Oslo, Norway+
February 4 @ Vega in Copenhagen, Denmark+
February 6 @ Palladium in Cologne, Germany+
February 8 @ Klub Stodola in Warsaw, Poland+
February 9 @SaSaZu in Prague, Czechia+
February 10 @ X-TRA in Zurich, Switzerland+
February 12 @ TonHalle Munchen in Munich, Germany+
February 13 @ ChorusLife Arena in Bergamo, Italy+
February 15 @ Razzmatazz in Barcelona, Spain+
February 16 @ Sala La Riviera in Madrid, Spain+
February 17 @ Lisboa Ao Vivo in Lisbon, Portugal+
%Jack’s Mannequin, The Home Team
+All Time Low
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