Mayday Parade

Anywhere But Here

Written by: DR on 31/10/2009 21:40:42

Regular readers of this site will know that I harbour a strong disdain for most things pop-punk, yet there are a few bands that arouse my interest. Mayday Parade are not one of them. Nor are they one I disdain, actually. They have just been another of those MySpace bands floating around, winning the hearts of scene girls and all that jazz. So, I head over to MySpace and find any girl that's online and ask her if she likes Mayday Parade, and wouldn't you know it, she does! After we get past all of the "omg they're amaaaazing" allegations, she brings me up to speed; and it turns out the former vocalist Jason Lancaster left and formed Go Radio, while the new guy "ain't as good".

I guess that's my cue. Now, I've spent a decent amount of time in preparation for this review on YouTube watching those lyric videos of the older songs that obsessed fans seem to make, and it's abundantly clear that the new kid Derek Sanders is worse, in every department, meaning fans will probably cry out for Lancaster defiantly, but that doesn't necessarily make him (Sanders) poor. He's a good singer, not as powerful as his predecessor and his lyrics leave a little to be desired, but he can hit a note - and his resemblance to Shane Told is hardly a liability.

Straight away "Kids In Love" opens with some 'anthemic' drumming, and Sanders leading pop punk in to a brave new lyric world... by singing about girls and summer. Immediately it's obvious that there's a much more straightforward approach to this album, a hook here, a 'catchy' chorus there: sigh. The two following songs "Anywhere But Here" and "The Silence" are somewhat deceptive, as they showcase the band in a new, darker manner, and they pull it off, and your hopes are bound to be raised. The rest of the record then takes it upon itself to shit on those hopes, because aside from the two aforementioned songs and the gang-vocal fuelled "Get Up" there's nothing here you should be eager to hear. Furthermore, fans of their previous work are permitted to feel let down by this album and the lacklustre change in direction.

Despite that, despite every cheesy clichéd chorus and despite the ridiculous number of times I double-checked my iPod in case someone had snuck a Backstreet Boys song in there, this album isn't really all that bad. Of course, I would never admit to that if I didn't owe the readers a fair and honest review. Instead, you'll probably want to buy a house specifically for this album, so you can see it secretly on the side each weekend, where you'll draw the curtains, bolt the doors shut, soundproof every room and sing along as though you were a 14 year old girl, unless you are a 14 year old girl, in which case you can sing along publicly. Lucky sods.

7

Download: Anywhere But Here, The Silence, Get Up
For Fans of: You Me At Six, All Time Low, The Maine
Listen: Myspace

Release Date 06.10.2009
Atlantic

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