Mayday Parade – A Lesson In Romantics

Mayday Parade‘s debut EP, Tales Told By Dead Friends, caught my attention – just barely, but it did. It wasn’t that good nor did it really jump out at me, but it was a bit better than a lot of the new emo/pop-punk acts spouting out these days. Nevertheless, I still would not call myself a fan of the band and after I reviewed the album I don’t know if I played it again. In fact, when I saw their debut full length, A Lesson In Romantics, I was less than enthusiastic. However, it looks as if the band has been able to take their song writing style and improve on it, much to the album’s advantage.

Once again going in the vein of a more controlled Fall Out Boy, Mayday Parade has delivered another pop-punk summer album. However, there are some distinct differences, most of which comes in the form of the vocals. While they do contain a striking similarity to Patrick Stump, they are much more consistent throughout as they stay in the same vein instead of reaching for extremely high pitched moments or going for the “R&B” style vocals. They are polished and smooth, following in the footsteps of Hopeless acts like All Time Low and Fueled By Ramen‘s Cute Is What We Aim For. The vocals are strong and melodic and you can actually see some glimmer of hope in the vocals, which is something most bands seem to skip over lately.

Despite all that, the album does fall victim to a number of indiscretions. The fact that the album is so slick and well produce makes it somewhat forgettable in the long run. Each individual song is quite good and enjoyable – some songs like When I Come Home You’re So Dead, Jamie All Over and Ocean and Atlantic more so than others – as a whole none are really able to stand out. The little changes like the more mellow If You Wanted A Song Written About You, All You Had To Do Was Ask or the vocal introduction on I’d Hate To Be You When People Find Out What This Song Is About are able to give the record some diversity but still not able to really to create the identity the album is in dire need of.

I do like this album, I can’t in good conscience say otherwise. However, it is far from great. Just a simple pop-punk/emo record good for a few listens. The musicianship is tight and the vocals are impressive; however, just like the EP, I believe A Lesson In Romantics will be forgettable in the long run. Good for a bit, but there’s not a solid enough identity to make you come back and play it again and again. It sounds too much like All Time Low, too much like Fall Out Boy, too much like a bunch of other records – and while that doesn’t necessarily make it bad, it will make it hard to remember the name four months down the road.