I was just about to submit this review of Mayday Parade’s album, Anywhere But Here, to Amazon.com, when suddenly I remembered: I have a blog. So GFY, Amazon.
Anything But This Album
In one word: disappointing.
Unfortunately, one word simply isn’t enough to accurately describe the EPIC FAIL that this album represents. That is of course, unless you’re a fan of boring, uninspired music that features definitely-not-catchy melodies and vocals that invoke about as much emotion as an auctioneer selling gravel–in which case, boy are YOU in for a treat!
But…if you’re a fan of Tales Told By Dead Friends and A Lesson in Romantics and you’re expecting this album to be a continuation of the previous two, then brace yourself for a tremendous letdown. The only reason I didn’t rate this 1-star is because the CD itself functions reasonably well as a drink coaster. Now I can put my ice-cold beer on the wood table, without worrying about whether or not condensation is going to accumulate at the base and form an unsightly circular stain of discoloration.
If you’re as big a fan of Mayday Parade as I used to be, then nothing I say is going to stop you from buying Anywhere But Here. But that’s okay, because you need closure. For me, buying this album was like identifying a friend’s body at the morgue: sure, it’s a traumatic experience…but the sooner you get it over with, the sooner you can begin the healing process and move on with your life.
The morgue analogy is actually quite fitting, because as far as I’m concerned…Mayday Parade died when Jason Lancaster left the band. The signature sound that earned both of their first 2 CDs a place in my personal “Top 10 Most-Listened-To Albums of All Time” list–that sound followed Jason to his new band, Go Radio. As for the remaining members of Mayday Parade…I’m sure they will continue to rock…kinda like how Black Sabbath continued to rock after Ozzy left.
(Hint: that means Mayday Parade sucks now.)
