Band of the Week #10 - Mayday Parade

History:

I honestly do not remember how I got into Mayday Parade. I believe a friend of mine must have turned me onto them two years ago, and I haven't looked back since! Mayday Parade is a band from Tallahassee, Florida and they currently have three albums out, and are releasing a fourth this coming Tuesday. They released an EP titled Tales Told by Dead Friends on  Fearless Records. It garnered them a little attention, but it set up the band to release their debut album, A Lesson In Romantics. This is the only album to feature the second singer Jason Lancaster, who would leave the band soon after the album's release for personal reasons. This album has a lot of fantastic tracks and defines Mayday Parade. The band has two singers, which adds a great dynamic to their sound. Songs like "Jamie All Over" and "Black Cat"  are crowd favorites, as well as tracks such as "I'd Hate To Be You When People Find Out What This Song Is About"
and "Take This To Heart". The band toured the album at the 2007 and 2008 Warped Tour and then they went off to record their next album which would be titled Anywhere But Here. It was the first album to not feature Jason Lancaster, but the rest of the band picked up the slack as back up vocalists for this record. Songs that stood out in this alum to me were "Kids In Love", "Save Your Heart", and "I Swear This Time I Mean It". The album was a little bit on the softer side, but the lyrics packed the same amount of punch as their previous record.

The band kept on rolling with their momentum and recorded their third album which would be a self titled record. It released on October 4, 2011 and had a few stand out tracks. The band's sound changed quite a bit in comparison to their older material, but the core Mayday Parade sound still remained the same, which is a good thing. The single ”Oh Well, Oh Well", was an amazing dynamic single, and the track "A Shot Across The Bow" was another stellar track off of the album. They toured this album as they toured all others and are currently all prepped up for the release of their new album Monster In The Closet

My Thoughts:

Mayday Parade was always a solid band to me. They are a very lyrically infused band, discussing relationships and love a majority of the time, but then again, don't most musicians do this? What sets them apart to, in my opinion at least, is the harmonizing that is heard in the vocals as well as the drummer. He is able to add a variety of dynamics that make songs sound fuller and much more dynamic. In the first album, A Lesson in Romantics, the guitar was very high and the guitarist Alex Garcia even took a couple of solos here and there. After this record, he would take less and less solos, and let the vocals and bass stand out more. Mayday Parade are a stellar band and they have cemented their spot as band that never stops working and always pushes themselves to be better musicians and a fantastic show.

Black Cat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-wCyQXvri8

Shot Across The Bow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isT800RXnoI