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Review Summary: Emotionally succeeding to the extent that it makes me want to kill myself. This is the part where, before taking my place behind the lectern, I place a card in front of me with the word OPINION on it, written just like that, in caps, so you pay attention to it. And since I've set the tone for a pretty informal review, let me also declare that I go into this with little bias. While I do somewhat consider myself to have grown out of pop-punk, my younger years were spent listening to the genre almost exclusively. Although back then I knew it by the Latin for "to buy" (Emo, for any plebs who may be reading this - Latin... plebs... geddit? No? Ah well then...).
I don't like this album, not one bit. I was preparing myself for a sandwich of emotion, poetry and memorable, heartfelt guitar playing, but what I see in front of me is something more akin to a rice cake with a bit of sugar sprinkled on the top. While it may taste good there's nothing really to sink your teeth into and the aftertaste is bland. Mayday Parade seem desperate to make up for their disappointing second studio LP, so are attempting to recreate their debut. As a result Mayday Parade seems uninspired, dated and, worst of all, produced by the numbers in a Justin Bieber fashion with the intent of wringing as much money out of 13 year-olds as possible.
I make this somewhat drastic comparison because no self respecting adult would fall for the kind of sugar-coated romanticism on display here, especially when we consider the quality of the lyrics that deliver it. Mayday Parade kicks off with "When you're alone, do you think of me?" and manages to continue spiraling downhill from there, another highlight being "Shes got broken things where her heart should be". The lyrics lack any sense of subtlety and, as a result, lose any kind of meaning.
As a comparison, let's cart out a line from "Green Gloves" by The National: "Cinderella through the room, I glide and swan 'cos I'm the best slow dancer in the universe." Now that is how you convey romanticism in a song. I hope you notice the complete lack of made-up female encounters and cliche similes. A little credit is needed for Mayday Parade, though, as Sanders' voice does its best to make up for the lyrics, infusing emotion into the words he sings with the distinctly American kind of whining exclusively found in this genre. It works, but once again not as well as it could, his voice is noticeably strained when he holds notes and it ends up sounding flat instead of in an endearing, Jeff Magnum way.
For what it is, the actual music to be found in Mayday Parade isn't all that bad. While there is little variation there are a couple of moments where it almost makes up for the lyrical shortcomings. However, while it's vaguely used to compliment the perceived emotion coming from the vocals, which is a good thing, the overuse of quiet bridges before explosive choruses quickly begins to wear thin, once again detracting from the romantic's atmosphere they're trying to create.
By trying to draw back to their roots, Mayday Parade have produced a forgettable LP in a blatant display of fan service. There is nothing new to be found here and the emotion, which Mayday Parade thrive on, is see-through and flat.
| other reviews of this album |
DaveyBoy EMERITUS (4)
Using every device imaginable to come up with a crowd-pleasing winner....
Sirob (4.5)
Mayday Parade gave themselves a Lesson In Romantics....
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Album Rating: 2.0
Think this might be my first negative review, not used to it.
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the summary is simply epic.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Not too bad for a negative review, although it does fall into the trap of going over the top in both description & rating... It's actually well-balanced, since you mention a few positives. But the opening disclaimer shouldn't be an excuse for put-downs, etc...
I can see why you used The National comparison, but am unsure it was relevant since the 2 bands play different kinds of music & have separate target audiences. I could similarly take some kind of hook from a National song & exhibit how it's not as effective as a hook from this album. But that would be missing the point, wouldn't it?
Having said all that, this album probably needed a negative review. I do know where you are coming from on your closing points & tbh don't entirely disagree. It's a point I'll try to address in the intro to my review.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off
I enjoyed reading this. Though this is a bit too informal for me, it's always nice to see an opposing
view back themselves up or explain themselves rather than petty youtube arguments. Especially when I
don't completely disagree with your comments. Mayday Parade is all about the cheese, bro.
With that being said, I stick to my rating. It's a major improvement to their last efforts. This was
a big surprise for me. While the lyrics aren't good, they are certainly better than before.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
"another highlight being "Shes got broken wings where her heart should be".
Unless my ears are deceiving me, "wings" is never mentioned in that song. It's "things".
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
@Voivod: Thanks.
@Jay: I don't usually do informal, but I guess I felt like I'd sound like a bit of a dick if I was negative and formal at the same time. (insecurities ftw!). And yeh, I'm not really one for letting people get away with cheese, seems like a cop-out in most cases.
@Davey: Noted, look forward to the review.
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I don't quite know why people have 5'd this, are they suggesting that this album is up there with Sgt. Peppers, OK Computer etc? Actually, there's something to be said on the ratings on Sputnik, as in some genres are rated much higher than others on average because of the varying degrees on harshness from fans. Case in point: this album is rated higher than Amon Tobin's latest, which is really good.
Anyway, glad this review is over with, now I can go back and listen to Starfucker's new LP.
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
"Unless my ears are deceiving me, "wings" is never mentioned in that song. It's "things". "
Ah shit, my bad. Don't know why I wrote that.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off
Well, if anything, this review was much more professional than other informal reviews considering some literally have introductions that go "What the hell is wrong with you people? This album don't deserve a 4." Needless to say, the review was not only entirely subjective, unlike this one, but it basically spent only 1/3 of the review describe what made the album bad (the rest being filler).
People just have varying degree of tastes and appeals and will judge on certain parameters differently. In that sense, ratings will always be flawed because music reviews can never be completely objective.
| | | Album Rating: 1.5
I liked this review. I'm disappointed that you didn't really mention how all of the songs sound exactly the same.
My 14 year-old sister loves this band, and she's the kind of girl who basically thinks lyrics like these are good because I guess she think's they're "relatable" or some stupid thing.
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
@Jay: That's good to hear.
@Tiki: They kind of do, but I was trying to say they sound the same without actually "saying" that they sound the same. It's indefensible, really, and with negative reviews you can't leave yourself too open for someone to cut in and claim to undermine your whole argument just because you used one bit of hyperbole.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Good review, kind of unnecessary and unfair to compare this band to The National, but I see where you were trying to go with that. Well written and right to the point, though
| | | Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off
Honestly, gonna compare pop-punk lyrics to The National?
Wow.
Decent review otherwise, although I disagree wholeheartedly.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
And in terms of this specific genre, I don't think not reinventing the wheel should be a negative. It's pop-punk, not prog metal
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
Would it be much different if I chose, say Jimmy Eat World lyrics?
Because I don't think that there should suddenly be a different standard just because the genre is different. Maybe choosing The National was unfair, but the point was that the way the bands go about it could not be any more different. One succeeds and the other... well I said that in the review.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off
So you don't think different lyrical styles suit different deliveries? That's what I'm saying: music comes as a whole package not as component parts. The National wouldn't be the same band they are if they had the lyrical stylings of Titus Andronicus, it'd be laughable. The same goes for Mayday Parade. You can criticise the lyrics for lacking subtlety, relying on clichés, never straying from the beaten path. But criticising them for not having the same approach to conveying romance as The National both looks wrong because mentioning a slow-burning indie band in a pop-punk review sounds weird, and is wrong (imo) because of what I stated up there^.
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
Oh of course they do, but personally I think Mayday Parade could have made this album a hell of a lot better if they'd at least taken some tips (not just from The National of course, it was just to make a point) instead of - let's be brutal here - picking from the lyrics they wrote when they were 14.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off
What do you think of ALIR's lyrics?
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
I just find it odd that you're even listening to this genre if you're looking for subtle nuances in your lyrics. And, sure, JEW does write better lyrics - but that's not what we're getting at. This band's lyrical style fits their musical style well. If I heard them blurt out a line that's anymore than a simple metaphor I would think it was out of place
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
Full name pl0x, don't recognise the abbreviation, will probably know the band.
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
"I just find it odd that you're even listening to this genre if you're looking for subtle nuances in your lyrics."
Picked up this album for old time's sake. As I hinted in this review, my musical taste has moved on a bit (I listen to a lot of ambient now). I still listen to certain albums though: Futures, I am the Movie etc.
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