Rank: 2.5/5
Instead of Mayday Parade naming this album “Black Lines”, it should’ve been named blue print. Featuring a new sound, this album tends to sound more experimental than anything they released before.
Their new album “Black Lines,” released on Oct. 9, starts with a soft-core, punk rock tone. This introduces the album’s musical theme without starting off with the strongest sound.
Mayday Parade is a band we have listened to at some stage in our lives. The alternative rock band evolved through various sounds since it started in 2006.
Although the Mayday Parade fans from 2009 may not expect this album’s tone, the band continues to keep its dark themes and intricate lyrics.
Each song in this album has an individual story, from what seems to be mostly brought about from personal relationships. Songs vary from getting enough courage to speak to the girl, to finally realizing the toxic relationship they were trapped in.
“Keep In Mind, Transmogrification Is A New Technology” was the first single to come from the new album, released in July 2015. The story portrayed in this song is simple to understand. You follow the character through an internal struggle with himself trying to determine if he should confess his love to the girl of his dreams.
The band seems to take their own style this time around instead of making a traditional album made for what the audience wants.
“She’s a cold-blooded killer, go and find who sent her, bring me the heart and leave the rest for dead,” from the song “Hollow”. Typically, these types of lyrics are found in hard-core, metal bands.
Mayday Parade can take these intense lyrics and make them bearable to the listeners who aren’t in the punk rock scene.
The name of the album, “Black Lines,” can be lightly interpreted as them marking out who they were before and starting new with who they want to be.
The work for this album is shown through the thought out lyrics and new take on their usual sound. The fans may be surprised by this move, but the skeleton of Mayday Parade is still visible.