Mayday Parade’s Latest Release Anywhere But Here
Released on October 6, 2009, Anywhere But Here is the third release from Florida-based group, Mayday Parade. Made up of Derek Sanders (lead vocals, keyboard), Jeremy Lenzo (bass guitar, backing vocals), Alex Garcia (lead guitar), Brooks Betts (rhythm guitar) and Jason Bundrick (drums, percussion), Mayday Parade formed in 2006 after the bands Kid Named Chicago and Defining Moment converged.
“Kids in Love” is an apt title for the first song on Anywhere But Here. The song sounds like something two teenagers in love might be playing in their car as they drive along an isolated road and into their future. Lyrically, the song reflects on those feelings from a person who is no longer a “kid in love;” something 99.9% of the population can probably relate to.
The title track of the album is fairly self-explanatory, describing a want to escape and be “anywhere but here.”
In “The Silence,” Sanders adds a nice effect with his vocals on the lyric “even though the world she loved, it won’t ever be the way it was” at the beginning of the chorus. It mirrors the instrumental back-and-forth of the notes in the background.
“If You Can’t Live Without Me…Why Aren’t You Dead Yet?” has to be one of the best titled songs my eyes have ever had the pleasure of reading. “I can’t live without you” seems to be one of those lines put out there a lot in relationships and the band makes light of that and twists it to make not just a clever title, but an angst-filled song that matches. The title of this song makes the next one a bit ironic. “Save Your Heart” calls out to a girl to save her heart “for someone worth dying for,” or basically, someone worthy. I’m not sure that this was an intentional juxtaposition of songs on the band’s part, but I find the dichotomy quite entertaining.
“Get Up” is a fast-paced, audience-participation-needed anthem to all the cities Mayday Parade has visited and pays homage to the greatness of each place. I imagine that when this song is played live, the audience is all on their feet jumping up and down and singing along.
“I Swear This Time I Mean It” is the stand-out “slow” song/ballad on the album. It actually would have been nice if it had been stuck in a little earlier on the album to add a change in sound, instead of at the end (not to be confused with “The End,” the actual closing track on Anywhere But Here).
At the risk of being overly blunt, Anywhere But Here is not much of a departure from most of the other music being played on the radio or on a MySpace channel but with that expectation set, the band does what they do very well. It’s a simple, well-written, well-executed, catchy, and very relatable release.
Rating: 
(4/5)
