Mayday Parade has begun its 20th-anniversary celebration with a song guaranteed to put a smile on your face and a song also set to lift your heart, “By The Way,” the first taste of its upcoming three-part album Sweet (April 18). And if this track is any indication, the Tallahassee five-piece is stepping boldly into the future.
Anchored by a tender piano groove that ebbs effortlessly into soaring melodies and stereo-fed guitars, “By The Way” finds Mayday Parade at their absolute finest, nostalgic yet forward-minded, personal while universally relatable. Derek Sanders’ trademark passionate vocals take center stage while singing about growth, feeling relief for coming out stronger on the other side, “Striding with the confidence and the commonsense Of a guy who a gay beckons.”
While Mayday Parade has a long history of transforming heartache into singalong gold, “By The Way” upends the script. It’s a cheer of resilience, a track about welcoming change with hope, even as everything else moves.
“By The Way” feels like it’s locked at the gut level as a step in the right direction,” Sanders says. “It’s about trying to maintain having hope when everything you know, the world is changing around you. We hope you all enjoy it.”
“By The Way” sets the table for Sweet, the first part of a planned three-part album made with longtime collaborators Zack Odom and Kenneth Mount. It’s an ambitious shift, coming from a band that launched in Warped Tour parking lots passing out CDs, proof that even after 20 years, Mayday Parade is evolving, growing, and continuing to make music that feels definitely identifiable like them.