The press release tell us that for their fourth album, Florida’s Mayday Parade ‘have honed their patented style of catchy, kinetic pop-punk with an outpour of real rock energy.’ Well, they would say that, wouldn’t they? They’re not going to say ‘This is emo rock by guys old enough to k now better.’
Ok, so the opener and title track ‘Monsters in the Closet’ fits the description, more or less. That isn’t to say it’s especially good: the lyrics could reasonably be described as being geared to the ‘young adult’ market, and the bouncy guitar-pop isn’t anything a discerning punk fan would call punk. In fact, it’s anything but punk. It’s simply not rock ‘n’ roll. In fact, it’s your usual emo-teen type guitar-indie, but with a bit more welly. The guitars are a bit meaner, the vocal delivery a bit more pissed off, and tracks like ‘Last Night For a Table of Two’ sounds like it could be quite menacing in the verses, but it still breaks into a huge, melodic chorus.
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If one was to be critical (and I am critical... isn’t being critical the job of a music critic?), the emo leanings are bit cliché, but looking at the positives, they’re a cut above the obvious reference points such as All Time Low, and for that, fair play.
Mayday Parade Online
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