Sunnyland
Mayday Parade know their way around a sad song. On Sunnyland, they also remember that a bit of noise can be useful. The album moves between direct guitar rock and the softer, emotional songs you would expect from this band. Sometimes that makes it feel familiar. At its best, it makes a very good case for sticking with what you do well.
Never Sure is a strong opening choice. It gets the guitars moving before the album has a chance to settle into its memories. Derek Sanders has the right voice for this material: clear enough to carry the melody, with enough strain to make the bigger moments feel earned. Stay the Same is another highlight, combining an uplifting chorus with the slightly heavier side of the band.
There is more force in Is Nowhere than the gentler songs might suggest. That extra weight stops the record becoming one long collection of regrets. It also makes the jump back towards something like Piece of Your Heart more effective. That song has a simple appeal. The arrangement grows around an intimate idea, and the chorus does the rest. No complicated explanation required.
The acoustic Take My Breath Away is particularly good. The strings add warmth without smothering the song, and Sanders leaves the melody room to work. The closing title track takes a similar route, looking back at childhood with a mixture of affection and sadness. It's an appropriate ending for an album that spends so much time trying to make peace with the past.
Not everything earns the same attention. Always Leaving feels less essential, and the album could lose a little weight without losing much of its character. The switches between energetic rock and reflective ballads are generally effective, but there are enough of them to make the middle stretch feel a little predictable.
Still, Sunnyland has some real songs behind the familiar approach. The band are convincing when they turn up the guitars and just as convincing when they strip things back. If you like emotional rock music with proper melodies and very little interest in hiding its feelings, there is plenty to enjoy here.
