Even without Go Radio’s Jason Lancaster on guitar and sharing vocal duties, Mayday Parade has still kept true to their flowery, melodic sound. Their sophomore record, Anywhere But Here, managed to keep the same emotion as their debut album with an almost non-existent void. Admittedly, Lancaster’s raspy cadences are still very well missed. But Mayday Parade has carried on just fine with Jeremy Lenzo on co-vocals. Now with their self-titled album out October 4, Mayday Parade has released “Oh Well, Oh Well,” another beautifully composed song filled with tasty lead guitar fills and harmony that burst through the speakers.

The song starts with subtle piano chords behind Derek Sanders’s emotional yelps. Violins fill the early silence midway through the intro as Sanders’s child-like rhyme gains momentum. The rhyme scheme switches up when he sings: “Oh well, oh well,” the song’s namesake lyric shifting focus to the vocals. The rest of the intro sums up the song perfectly with sincere words of love lost and one last goodbye. At the end of the intro, the quintessential bittersweet Mayday Parade message is once again employed, intact, and nearly eligible for a trademark.

 A few cymbal flicks later, the band sounds kick in with a quick rhythm and smooth high-to-low octave guitar tones. Sanders keeps the same rhyming scheme as in the intro, and by this point it sounds catchy alongside the instruments powerful rhythm and twangy lead guitar. The chorus is just as happy and fun with head-banging rhythm and more lead guitar, and the vocals are harmonious. Sanders and Lenzo switch off effortlessly, using their vocal range with strategy and poise.

The drums keep a steady pace throughout the song without trying to sound overpowering. But towards the end of the song, the drums pack a harder punch and gang vocals fill the song. There’s a good amount of joyous melody before Sanders regains control. The song ends with a few encouraging words and a set of chord strikes to really bring the whole thing home. If “Oh Well, Oh Well” is likely to be the first track off their new album, we can only imagine what other surprises the Tallahassee rock group has in store for us.

★★★★☆

*This review was composed by Jose Terrero