If you have ever experienced heartbreak, regret, or wistfulness, then chances are than you have been able to identify with the pop punk band Mayday Parade. Originating from Florida, the band consists of vocalist Derek Sanders, Jake Bundrick on percussion, Alex Garcia on lead guitar, Brooks Betts also on guitar, and Jeremy Lenzo on bass, and they are known for their poignantly sad lyrics. Songs such as “Three Cheers for Five Years”, “Jamie All Over,” and “The Memory” solidified Mayday Parade’s reputation of writing simply about heartbreak, loss, regret, and all of the sentiments that come with growing up and finding yourself. However, on October 9th, Mayday Parade released an album that completely obliterated those judgements made by casual fans and avid listeners alike. Black Lines, their new album, is more than just an album- it’s a coming of age process where fans can truly see how far Mayday Parade has come since 2005. The band is revamping their style, their sound, and even their lyrics with the aid of slashing guitar riffs, harsh vocals, and a newly donned maturity by the members themselves.

The album starts out with the explosive “One of Them will Destroy the Other”, featuring Dan Lambton from the pop-punk group Real Friends. While certain lyrics seem to reinforce the common Mayday Parade theme of sadness, such as “My one bad habit was to watch you sad and feel a little bit at home…”, the overall structure of the song is more conspicuous than the lyrics, containing a mix of belted and screaming vocals and an all-around aggressively fast pace, aided by Jake’s aggressive drums. The transition made into the next song, “Just Out of Reach”, is a radical change due to the illusion of an acoustic sound in the beginning that transforms into electric guitars. The heartache from losing someone you care about is prominent throughout the entire song, but at the very end, Derek’s lonely vocals accompanied by just a piano each are essential to feeling the emotion put into the creation.

Immediately after “Just out of Reach” are the songs “Hollow” and “Letting Go”, two songs that are very similar in structure and sound. Each song provides the listeners with a slower sensation, repetitive lyrics, and minor tones featuring messages of conflicting relationships. However, “Letting Go” provides more of an acoustic sound throughout the song, which is shattered by the transition into the next song, “Let’s Be Honest”. “Let’s Be Honest” begins with the sound of guitar distortion and minor tones, but then transitions into rougher guitar riffs, with Derek’s harsh vocals singing poetic lines such as “I’m a sinking ship… You might think I’m good as gold.” The song’s haunting outro enables the listeners to hear the dramatic change from the beginning of the song to the end.

The next track on the album, “Keep in Mind Transmogrification is a New Technology”, is my personal favorite, with its title taken from the popular comic “Calvin and Hobbes” by Bill Watterson. Its uplifting tone and creative, complex lyrics, like ““I am the blistering side of the wall in the back of your room”, “Tell yourself your pride is just the same, trying not to count the days ‘til mine gets washed away”, and “I am the envy of what you’re afraid to write and that’s fine”, make it a memorable tune by themselves. The very end, though, showcases a lengthy instrumental where the guitar and drums gradually disappear to be replaced by piano chords. The song ends with a haunting piano sound, leaving another song with a contrast between its start and end.

Although the next song, “Narrow”, has a more melancholy tone, with lyrics like “Always alone, even the one time this feeling’s let me in”, “I don’t belong here”, and “When you were gone, I forgot how to make anything at all”, the mood shifts with the song after that, “Underneath the Tide”. “Underneath the Tide” has a similar sound to the quicker-paced songs on the album, with a prominent bass line from Jeremy. However, the variety in tone from “Narrow” to this song is due to the song’s underlying message of positivity by saying “It’s us against the world… We will be fine underneath this tide… I’ll move on and we’ll be stronger than we ever were…”

The next song, “All on Me”, allows listeners to admit their fears through lyrics like “I’ll paint on a smile for now”, “Truth be told, I’m lost and so afraid”, and “I’m so afraid of what’s to come.” This song has a more mature and rough sound compared to some other songs on the album, and it fades out with minor electric guitar chords and the statement “I’m so afraid of what’s to come.” However, in the song after it, “Until You’re Big Enough”, the band’s lyrics offer positivity and urge listeners to deal with their afflictions. The lyrics simultaneously provide hope and picturesque imagery, saying ““Strike when it’s red light, crumble the castle walls”, “Speak like a man who believes he’s got no destiny, he’s content” and “I will build you up, till you’re big enough to take me home”. In relation to poetic lyrics, “Look Up and See Infinity, Look Down and See Nothing” has lyrics saying “I want to make the clouds come down, I want to fill the rest of you out… Sweet dreams the day away, I can’t think of one real thing that I could say…” with a more mellow sound overall.

Finally, the song “One of Us” is an incredible closing song that seems to sum up the overall message of the album. This song is about coping with sadness and it provides solace, saying “You’re one of us, here’s exactly what you’ll need to make it through/Good times and hard times/

We’re here to fight for you…”  The second verse gives advice on how to live a fulfilling life, with the words “You’ve gotta fight the beast inside/And all the while enjoy the ride/You’ve gotta keep an open mind/And willingness to chance.” The song ends with the line “You’ll find your love where it’s always been”, leaving the listeners with a supportive and mature message. The album in itself shows how much Mayday Parade have matured and improved over the years, and it is essential to listen to for anyone going through adversity and willing to overcome it.