Hidden Beats
Your Ultimate Source for Music, Entertainment and Community
First Listen – Sad – Mayday Parade
Mayday Parade are tapping straight into the heart of nostalgia with Sad, the second installment in their ambitious three-part album project. It’s a record that feels instantly familiar — like cracking open an old iPod Mini and finding Under My Sweater and One Day at a Time queued up between Fall Out Boy and Jimmy Eat World.
The Sound
Sad captures that early 2000s pop-punk pulse that Mayday Parade helped define, but with the polish and perspective of a band nearly two decades in. Shimmering guitars and punchy drums drive each track with melodic urgency, while Derek Sanders’ voice carries the same emotional grit that once filled high school parking lots and late-night playlists. The sound is both comfortingly nostalgic and refreshingly alive — proof that Mayday Parade know exactly what their fans fell in love with, and how to make it hit just as hard today.
The Standout Singles
The album’s lead single, Under My Sweater, remains the standout — a track that perfectly embodies the warm, bittersweet nostalgia of Mayday Parade at their best. It’s catchy, confessional, and deeply human — the kind of song that would’ve lived rent-free on your first-gen iPod. Following that, One Day at a Time keeps the momentum going, layering heartfelt reflection over that signature blend of earnest melody and emotional drive. Together, the singles set the tone for Sad’s heartfelt storytelling and full-circle sound.
The Emotion
Despite its title, Sad isn’t an album that wallows. Instead, it transforms melancholy into motion — finding resilience in heartbreak and hope in the act of growing older. There’s an emotional balance here that reflects both the innocence of Mayday Parade’s early work and the maturity of a band that’s learned how to make sadness sound empowering.
The Bigger Picture
As the second part of their three-album arc, Sad feels like the connective tissue — a middle chapter that bridges youth and reflection, energy and experience. And with Mayday Parade currently on an international tour through February 2026, with dates across North America and Europe, this era is shaping up to be one of the band’s most inspired yet. Nearly twenty years on, they’re still proving that pop-punk’s emotional heartbeat is alive and well — just with a few more miles (and memories) behind it.
Send us a message here
© Hidden Beats Corp. All Rights Reserved 2020