The fact this record was produced by Zack Odom and Kenneth Mount, who also produced Cartel‘s Chroma and the recent Bedlight For Blue Eyes record, kind of gives away what this band sounds like. While they’ve been packaged as a FOB-lite Fearless Records band, there is certainly more of a pop-rock-lite cartel-esue edge to the band as the tracks on ‘A Lesson in Romantics’ are smoother than a baby’s bottom and with enough pop sheen to pull you in hook, line and sinker.
Of course Mayday Parade don’t re-invent the wheel, but with songs as good as ‘Jamie All Over’ (how good are the gang vocals, by the way?) and the awesome ‘When I Get Home You’re So Dead’ you can look past the token ballad ‘Miserable At Best’ and the one or two other sub-standard efforts that reside on this record. But when Mayday Parade get it right they’re very, very good indeed and a lot of fun. They’ve been overlooked this summer and a lot of other very well known bands – like cartel – have put out far worse albums.
If you like you’re pop-punk to be more of the former than the latter, you’re in the right hands…