One of Florida’s finest pop-punk bands, Mayday Parade are back with their third release, and major-label (Atlantic Records) debut Anywhere But Here. Since Jason Lancaster left to form his own band, Go Radio, people have speculated the fate of Mayday Parade. I’m sad to say that what I thought would happen, has. Their album has some good songs, but most do not bare resemblance to the addictive tracks of A Lesson in Romantics.”
Opening track, “Kids in Love.” is reminiscent of a beautiful summer day, while “Anywhere But Here,” highlights Derek Sanders’ voice with a more chilling vibe--a good chilling vibe.
Mayday brings out the acoustic guitar in “I Swear This Time I Mean It,” but this song doesn’t do much for me. It sounds like the typical slow, acoustic power-pop ballad. What DOES draw you in the song are the lyrics “You could crush me, but please don’t crush me.” Derek sings with tremendous passion, which stands out in this song. The album’s closer, “The End” brings me back to the Mayday Parade that you know and love. Infectious hooks, lyrics and everything Mayday Parade is known for.
Although Anywhere But Here has some good tracks, only a handful really stand out. Whether due to the loss of Lancaster or perhaps, just running out of things to sing about and losing steam, Mayday hasn’t put out the killer album I was really rooting for.
3 out of 5 [TG]