Before Mayday Parade’s release of their 5th studio album Black Lines, the fans already seemed to have a huge reaction to it – and not the best kind of reaction when you’re a band trying something new. The band released a sneak peek of the new album with three songs “One of Them Will Destroy the Other” (featuring Dan Lambton), “Keep in Mind, Transmogrification is A New Technology”, and “Letting Go”. Some of the fans seem to love the new sound and couldn’t get enough of it, while others were saying this wasn’t the Mayday they had fallen in love with over the years.
The 12-track album starts off with previously released song, “One of Them Will Destroy the Other” featuring Real Friends lead singer Dam Lambton. The song gives off a new alternative rock based feel for the band. With the raspy sound and raw emotion Sanders portrays in the song and guest vocals from Lambton, this song sets the mood for the entirety of the album and shows the fans – new and old – what the new Mayday Parade has to offer.
“It’s sort of branching out from a lot of stuff we’ve done in the post,” Sanders begins. “We wanted this album to feel a little more grown up and to feel a little bit different from everything we’ve done in the past… that’s why we went with a different producer this time around and soft of a different style and sound.”
A big defining factor of Mayday is the slow piano based [love] songs. “Letting Go”, “Narrow”, and a slight sound of “Look Up and See Infinity, Look Down and See Nothing” keep that essence we all know and love alive. The song “Narrow” brings a similarity that I couldn’t quite put my finger on for the first few. Then I realized the similarity brought me to a song by Secondhand Serenade “Your Call”. The simple guitar voice of Sanders coming through your earbuds is sure to get you hooked on the first listen.
Songs such as “Just Out of Reach”, “Keep In Mind, Transmogrification Is a New Technology”, “One Of Us”, and “Underneath the Tide” remind me that there is still a large chunk of the old Mayday sound that we all thought we were losing in their new album and helps to further show that bands can mature without losing their roots.
“I don’t know what to expect [from the fans], but I think ultimately we had to do this just so that we were happy. We hope that people can adapt and grow with it. It’s not a complete separation. It still sounds like Mayday Parade, it’s just an evolution. I’m a little nervous and very excited to see what people think.”
Change is one of the most nerve-wracking moves a band can make it their musical career, especially after being a band for nearly 10 years. Mayday Parade took that risk and embraced what was to come. Coming into this album I wasn’t sure it would compare to the previous releases but I think the album surpasses all of the [negative] feedback it was getting. I can assure you: It Is the same old Mayday Parade we have all grown to love over the years, with a new evolutionalized mature twist.
All in all, I wouldn’t classify this as Mayday Parade’s best album (Honestly, it’s hard to beat A Lesson In Romantics) but, I do believe their style and sound change has a lot of potential to gain a new following without losing the fan base they have already built up. All that I ask for any listeners going in to this album– especially the fans since the beginning – is to go into listening to the album with a clear slate and unbiased opinion. Do it for me, do it for your eardrums, do it for Mayday Parade, but most importantly, do it for the love of music.
Head on over to iTunes to download the album and give it a listen for yourself – here!!
