Review Summary: Its time you learned your Lesson.
The gripping opening riff. A bold note to begin your album on. But the mood set by an atmospheric prelude is gone, you say! The emotion felt by the spoken word introduction is nowhere to be found, you cry! Enter "Jamie All Over"; your first Lesson In Romantics.
As previously stated, the band dives right into their most recent effort with the rawest song on the album. Built around the opening six chords, "Jamie All Over" seems to fit the mold as an average, obligatory pop-punk song about an unforgettable summer. With such gems as We made love by the ocean/As the waves crashed around you/Sunsets never were so bright/And the skies never so blue, this seems to be an average start to an average album. And then something hits you, about halfway through the song. This *** is good. Real good. But why, you ask? The lyrics, the song structure; by all accounts, this should be a generic song. As is the case with a number of songs on the album. Mayday Parade has a habit of making average pop-punk anthems into not only great pop-punk songs, but some the best MUSIC on the market today.
That being said, Mayday Parade does a great job of bringing the teenage kid out in all of us due to their (at times blunt) but beautiful lyrics. Though most of the songs are about love lost and broken hearts, none of the songs ever come off as apathetic. And, at times, the structure and lyrical content is almost poetic. For example, the alliteration and rhyme scheme in the chorus of "Black Cat" accent the easily-decipherable metaphor of the verses perfectly. Conversely, the lyrics can be extremely straightforward, as depicted in "Miserable at Best", for example: These words were never easier for me to say/Or her to second guess/But I guess/That I can live without you/But without you I'll be miserable at best. It's apparent that this entire song is just a vehicle for the two singers to showcase their astounding dual vocals. The right vocalist always seems to chime in at the right moment, never hearing a word spoken from one or the other in a spot where it wasn't necessary. Jason brings the crooning, soaring voice to the table, while Derek adds a rougher, lower tone to the songs. Backing vocals are wonderfully spaced and are only used where it will enhance the song, not just for the sake of attacking your ears at all angles with three different voices and five different instruments. As for the instruments, while not being terribly intricate, the band manages to write some of the most skillfully crafted pop-punk to grace my ears in a long time.
Everything from the jazzy feel of "Black Cat" to the anthemic quality of "I'd Hate To Be You When People Find Out What This Song Is About" to the bouncy and inspiring "Take This To Heart", the instruments are played so that each song has extracted every last bit of poppy punky goodness. The piano featured in "Miserable At Best" is fitting for the song, though it is the weakest song on the album. Despite some fantastic vocal trade-offs, it all boils down to a run of the mill piano ballad whose length is about a minute over what it really needs to be. One of two 'slow' songs on the album, "Miserable" will appease you, but is no tear-jerker. The second 'slow' song will be discussed later. The single, "When I Get Home You're So Dead", remastered from their debut EP, has a great finger-picked acoustic opening, leading into an explosive chorus. The following song, "Jersey", follows the palm-muted open-the-song-with-the-chorus technique, but pulls it off with flying colors due to Mayday's ability to paint a picture in your mind of what they're trying to convey. The production of ALIR is also top notch, and even includes audible bass! (gasp)! The bass and drums are tight and work well off of each other, and really take care of business in the rhythm section. The bass is especially bouncy and noticeable in "If You Wanted A Song Written About You, All You Had To Do Was Ask", as the whole song is essentially one giant bassline. This song is also the second best on the album in terms of lyrical content, as the bridge brims with emotion and fires the lines You screamed the bridge/And I cried the verse/And our chorus came out unrehearsed/And you smiled the whole way through it/I guess maybe that's what's worse. As I said, this song is second lyrically to the best song on the album, "You Be The Anchor That Keeps My Feet On The Ground, I'll Be The Wings That Keep Your Heart In The Clouds".
Half because its the best song on the album (and one of my personal favorite pop-punk songs ever), and half because the title alone takes up an entire paragraph, "You Be The Anchor That Keeps My Feet On The Ground, I'll Be The Wings That Keep Your Heart In The Clouds" is solely going to be discussed in this section. Opening with some softly picked guitar, almost as soon as it begins a deep breath is taken by Jason, as if to signify he's got a lot to let out in this song. And boy, does he. For lack of a better word, this angelic song is a cry for help to God and centers around one central question and the ensuing answer. After the first chorus, a rush of cymbals fade in and the song begins its build-up. The new archetype for anyone that has ever lost or tried to forget, this song will lull you away from reality for its 4 and a half minute duration. After the second chorus, Derek shouts the most enthralling line of the album and midway through it the instruments pause as the words are delivered. This much you must know, we'll meet again/And I will have you know I'm scared to death. It ends in an explosion of shouted lines and crooning guitar, repeating the line Please don't let me go until finally the final chorus is let loose and the song reaches its beautiful conclusion.
In a final overview of the Lesson that Mayday Parade has just give their listeners, despite a lack of creativity, a few of the songs sounding similar and "Miserable" being no better than any other piano ballad out on the market (yet at the same time no worse), Mayday Parade's A Lesson In Romantics has taught me everything and more about the subject. Now, if only I could find someone to pass my newfound knowledge of romance onto..
