Here to offer their listeners a short respite from the heinousness of 2020, Mayday Parade delivers the Out of Here EP on Friday, October 16, 2020 via Rise Records.
We all know their story: the boys in Mayday Parade spent their earliest days peddling CDs in parking lots at Warped Tour dates, toiling at building a fan base. This tactic certainly didn’t hurt the Floridians, who would go on to release their full-length debut, A Lesson in Romantics, in 2007. Unlike many of their peers, over the past 13 years, the quintet has had only one key line-up change, which hasn’t slowed them from consistently delivering new material, including 2009’s Anywhere but Here, 2013’s Monsters in the Closet, and 2018’s Sunnyland.
Now with well over a million albums sold, and 62 million streams of Sunnyland alone, Mayday Parade—Vocalist/Keyboardist Derek Sanders, Guitarists Alex Garcia and Brooks Betts, Bassist Jeremy Lenzo, and Drummer Jake Bundrick—has earned a name that is synonymous with melodic goodness. Rest assured that the Out of Here EP delivers just this: an escape from the ferocity of 2020 and its doldrums, and a reminder to breathe.
The thematic flight from reality is never more prevalent than in “First Train,” an infectious and sweet dollop of support, hope, and empowerment. Be anything, anywhere, with anyone is the message in this swaying sing-along that is the glowing ray of sunshine on the Out of Here EP. Of course, this is not said to demean the EP’s current single/video, “Lighten Up Kid,” the most undeniably catchy bop that sits at the center of the collection. An injection of upbeat energy that we all can use right now, it’s a sonic assistance in staving off the cabin fever that seems to be slowly creeping in as the months progress. So don’t go insane, kid!
Unfortunately, it all ends far too soon with the semi-acoustic ballad “I Can Only Hope.” A showstopper in its own right, the track is a flawless example of what Mayday Parade does so well: heartfelt sincerity, soaring melodies, and raw emotion. That said, literally the only thing wrong with their latest is that it’s only three songs. So if these tracks are a sign of what is to come from the band, well, we can only hope it arrives soon. For this, Cryptic Rock gives the Out of Here EP 5 of 5 stars.
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