By Brittany Burke

In Mayday Parade’s third studio album self-titled, Mayday Parade, the pop-punk band from Tallahassee, FL proves that they have staying power.

While their contemporaries are feeding into the pop side of the musical charts, the boys in Mayday have actually gone back to their musical roots and were able to produce tracks much like the ones found on A Lesson in Romantics, the band’s first full-length studio album.

The album’s opening track, and first single “Oh well, oh well,” sets the pace for the rest of the CD. As lead singer Derek Sanders croons through the opening notes the, song quickly speeds up, which makes you forget that it is a song about heartbreak.

With songs such as “Call Me Hopeless, Not Romantic,” and the final track, “Happy Endings Are Stories That Haven’t Ended Yet,” it is clear that Mayday Parade has mastered songs of longing, lost loves and shattered hearts.

The first four songs on the album are melancholic with a slower tempo, but the momentum changes with the song “Priceless.” While the track keeps in theme with broken relationships, it is one that you can’t help but want to move to. I find myself subconsciously moving my head with the music, but it is a fine line between sugary-pop and pop-punk, luckily Mayday Parade seemingly refuses to cross into the mainstream pop world.

It is ironic that the most upbeat song musically, “A Shot Across the Bow” has Sanders singing a chorus of “I hope you fall into the ocean, and the current leaves you hopeless swimming around, as the waves crash over you until you float away,” but the irony works.

Mayday ends the album as strong as it started, showcasing Sanders’ vocal range and ability to draw in a listener. His vocals are backed by catchy instrumentals and end the lyrics end the album with a sense of hope.

Some may suggest the band draw inspiration and find other things to write about opposed to 12 tracks on just love and love lost, but why tamper with an equation that works?