Mayday Parade’s new album Black Lines is a step away from their traditional upbeat pop punk to some heavier instrumental and vocals. It’s a more mature sound they’ve adapted and a nice to see them move away from the style of their debut album A Lesson In Romantics.
Hollow is a very different song for Mayday to perform and opens with a Muse-esque guitar tone which is really electronic and dark. It’s a very melodic instrumentally and is very riff heavy. The lyrics are very dark and it’s a new writing style for the band to adapt. The song that follows on the album is Letting Go, which is a much happier sounding song with a country rock vibe meets psychedelic rock.
The haunting Look Up And See Infinty, Look Down And See Nothing is a great example of how the band have matured and shows the new inspirations and direction the band are going. It’s a dark, empty sounding song filled with chilling vocals and some abstract guitar work and an evil sort of atmosphere. Narrow has a similar kind of feel to it until it drops and a hard hitting instrumental slams you with the urge to dance and mosh.
The album closes with One Of Us which opens with a misleading opening of acoustic guitar before kicking in to a heavy instrumental line and some more aggressive vocals. The songs filled with incredible guitar solos, catchy vocal hooks and some incredible drumming. The riffs and shouted vocals really show a new side to the band and how they have developed musically.
The album is mature, instrumentally complex and exciting. They’re stepped away from the fundamentals that make them who they are and have built on the aspects that have been slowly creeping through as their albums progress. Stepping away from the piano and exchanging it for a heavier sound the band show they’re not afraid to step outside their comfort zone and try new things and it has paid off. Incredible guitar riffs demonstrating the guitarists skills as musicians and their ability to adept and try new things. The drums are at a new height of incredible and it’s some of the best written drums the band have ever produced. The vocals show a new side to the band and how vocalist Derek is trying new singing styles and developing him self as a musician. The bass on the album takes a shine and is the best the band have produced musically with some complex and funky bass lines that shine throughout the album.
Mayday Parade have proved time and time again they’re here to stay. With a new mature sound and demonstrations of their impressive song writing skills plus their willingness to grow as a band and explore new avenues the album will take the band to new places they’ve never been before.
9/10
