I only found out about this album three months when I saw
the band post information about it on their Facebook page. If they hadn't done
that, I wouldn't have even heard about it. I checked out the lyric video for their first single and thought it was a really good song. Right then and there, I decided that this would have to be an album that I check out. Mayday Parade's past three albums
have all been unique in their own special way, so without further ado, let's
get on with the review.
In Depth
Review:
1. Ghosts- This was the first of two
singles they released from this album. It has a really soft intro, but it picks
up within after the first 30 seconds. The first thing I heard was the guitar in
the background. It was doing a lot more movement than I expected, but I'll
admit I like it. It isn't like Hail to the King by Avenged Sevenfold where the
intricate part stood out and tarnished the song to a certain extent, but a
subtle guitar part that gets its time to shine for the quick solo in the song.
The song in itself is very dynamic and has a lot of tempo changes as well as a
good mix of highs and lows. Another plus is that I can hear the bass really
well in this track which is always good since the bassist gets a little time to
shine as well. This is overall a really good opener, I'd give it a 8/10
2. Girls- This is the second single off
the album that was released a couple of weeks ago. This song sounds very
pop-punk, but in a good way. The drums are really punchy and push the song
forward a lot. The song has a nice guitar riff going for it and the vocals are stunning.
Towards the end of the song, it slows down a lot, but they were able to keep
tempo and maintain the integrity of the song. Overall, I'd give this song a 7/10. I felt there was something
missing in the song, something that could have made it ten times better, but it
is still a great track.
3. Last Night for a Table of Two- The
introduction to this is song is amazing! The guitar has a very Middle Eastern
feel to it. This song is really technical in comparison to Mayday Parade's
previous material. There are a lot of held notes, and there is an insane guitar
solo filled with shreddy goodness. The vocalists Derek Sanders and Jake
Bundrick have really nice vocal tradeoffs and they fit really well together on
the vocal department. The bass and drums
are really tight on this track and the track overall is a really rock oriented
track. I did not expect this type of track to be on the album; it surprised me
in a good way. 9/10
4. 12 Through 15- This track is the type
of track I was expecting to be on the record, and it doesn't disappoint. The
track opens up with an audio clip from a movie. The track overall is very soft
and laid back The bass is playing a very slow, but moving progression while the
guitars play a nice percussive chord progression. The band really focuses on
the vocals and set their goals to accentuate the vocals in this song. The song
really picks up towards the second half, and it really shows off Derek's
vocals. 8/10
5. The Torment of Existence Weighed Against
the Horror of Nonbeing- The intro is a big band "la-la-la" intro,
but I wasn't too fond of it. I can see it being used in a live set extensively,
but I wasn't a fan of the record version. With that aside, the song is really
cool to listen to. The bass does some really cool stuff in the verse, and the
vocals are stunning in the chorus. Jason and Derek get to show off their vocal
abilities. The second guitar and piano in the second verse add nice accents in
the song without overshadowing the song as a whole. The bridge and the buildup
to the final chorus are amazing and I absolutely love this song. My only other
issue with this song is that the end of the song has a violin section that
feels out of place. With that aside, the album seems to get better the longer
you listen to it. I'd give this track a 7/10
6. Even Robots Need Blankets- This is yet
another soft rock track. It starts off with a piano, and throughout the course
of the song, goes back to focus on it since it is the main component of the
song. The song gets slightly heavier, but it doesn't really change much. There
are no interesting dynamic changes, nor a fun moving bassline. What really
threw me off was the end of the song that seemed to have ended on a bad note.
The song also initially end in an abrupt manner before going to the piano to
end it. I'd give this song a 5/10.
It feels very unpolished and incomplete.
7. Repent and Repeat- From the fade in to the very end, this track
had me hooked. The drums are stellar and it is very pop-punk like. It has a
great feel to it and I really like the song lyrically. The song flows really
well and always stay up beat. It is personally one of my favorite songs off of
the record so far. It is just so consistent and powerful. Plus the song is
really catchy and the chorus is already stuck in my head after one listen. 9.5/10.
8. Demons- This is another one of Mayday
Parade's powerhouse tracks; a pop-punk track. This song would stand out if it
was placed on one of their older records, but in an album filled with lots of
fast upbeat tracks, it doesn't shine like it should Demons is a great track and
one of my first thoughts about this song was that the intro is very Boys Like
Girls like. It is reminiscent of their style, but in a good way.The track doesn't stand out terribly well in the album, but it is all in all a good track. 6.5/10
9. Sorry, Not Sorry- I had two simultaneous
impressions of this song when I first heard it. The first expression is that
this song sounds like something off of their debut full length album, A Lesson
in Romantics. The second was that the phrasing of the song is really awkward in
various parts such as the intro. It didn't quite ruin the song for me, but it
did bother me a little bit. The song
overall was good and I'd give it a 7.5/10
10. Nothing You Can Live Without, Nothing You
Can Do About- Something about this song strikes a chord with me. I don't
know why, but I feel that I really relate to this song. With the personal
feelings aside, this song is amazing. It feels like something that would have
made it onto their second album, Anywhere But Here. It fits the theme of that
album quite well, but it fits this one just as well. It is a really nice track
and I would give it a solid 8/10
11. Hold Onto Me- This is probably their
most powerful song on the album. It is a soft rock track, very similar to
Lifehouse in that sense. The track is a soft track and is a nice way to reach
the ending of this album. Derek is belting out all he has vocally and is
clearly putting some passion and soul into his work. I liked this track quite a
bit. 710
12. Angels- The album digresses from its
hard hitting intros and triplets on the bass drum to end with yet another soft
track. The album built up and digressed in a nice even manner. As for the song
Angels, it reminds me a lot of Miserable at Best, a song they released on their
debut album A Lesson in Romantics. The song is a nice soft ending to fantastic
album. 7/10
The Album
Overall:
WOW. Let me start with that. This album was amazing. I
will definitely be listening to this album again and again for quite some time.
The album has a things going for it and it was mixed really well. The lyrical
content is no different than any of their other records, so I didn't focus on
it as much. What really blew me away for this record was the instrumentals and
the musicality. It is unlike any other Mayday Parade record I have ever heard
and it is amazing. Id' give the album as a whole a solid 8.5/10. There are some really stellar songs in this album
and I can happily say in my opinion that there are no bad tracks on this album.
Nothing stood out like a sore thumb in a negative manner, and nothing sounded
terrible. The album was well mixed, well made, and in my opinion, it will be
well received.
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