Commemorating May Day, Craft Recordings announces a fresh vinyl reissue of Mayday Parade’s bestselling debut, A Lesson in Romantics. Originally released in 2007, the album served as a worthy introduction to the Tallahassee, FL, band with such enduring pop-punk favorites as “When I Get Home, You’re So Dead” and “Jamie All Over,” which was recently certified Platinum by the RIAA. Arriving September 20th and available for pre-order now, A Lesson in Romantics is available wide on “Coke Bottle Clear” vinyl, while fans can find limited editions in “Red, Yellow and Black Swirl” (exclusively via MaydayParade.com) and “Sunspot” via CraftRecordings.com.
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Long before they were headlining stages across the globe, Mayday Parade was simply a group of young rockers who shared a passion for playing music. The Tallahassee, FL, band formed in 2005 when members from two local acts (vocalist Derek Sanders, guitarist Brooks Betts and bassist Jeremy Lenzo from Defining Moment and vocalist/guitarist Jason Lancaster, guitarist Alex Garcia and drummer Jake Bundrick of Kid Named Chicago) joined forces. Within months, they recorded their debut EP, Tales Told by Dead Friends, and earned a spot at the 2006 Vans Warped Tour after winning a battle of the bands. That summer, the six-piece group made the most of their time on the festival, selling over 10,000 copies of their self-released EP through grassroots efforts.
By the end of the year, Mayday Parade had signed with Fearless Records and began recording their debut full-length at the top of 2007. Produced by Zack Odom and Kenneth Mount (Cartel, The Ready Set, The Fold), A Lesson in Romantics was written primarily while the band was on their first tour. Many of the songs reflected their experiences of being away from loved ones and the challenges of maintaining romantic relationships while being on the road.
Throughout the album, the band’s whip-tight musicianship—as well as their ability to write hook after hook—is on display. Chock full of anthemic pop-punk songs, A Lesson in Romantics includes such highlights as the passionate opener “Jamie All Over” and the bouncy “Black Cat,” plus such emotive favorites as “Jersey” and “When I Get Home, You’re So Dead” (the only track to carry over from Tales Told by Dead Friends). The group also shows their softer side with a selection of soaring ballads, including the stripped-down, piano-based “Miserable at Best,” plus “If You Wanted a Song Written About You, All You Had to Do Was Ask” and the epically titled closer “You Be the Anchor That Keeps My Feet on the Ground, I’ll Be the Wings That Keep Your Heart in the Clouds.”
The album, which marked the band’s only full-length to feature founding member Jason Lancaster (who departed not long after recording had wrapped), was released in July 2007. Instantly, A Lesson in Romantics became a fan favorite, debuting at No.8 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart, where it eventually spent 70 consecutive weeks. Today, the Gold-certified LP remains Mayday Parade’s highest-selling album.
Critics were also charmed by the record. Absolute Punk praised A Lesson in Romantics as an “album that will surely become one of your most played of the summer.” Sputnik Music hailed, “Breathless, melodic and rhythmically brilliant, not a single song on this record escapes your grasp,” adding that the album is “just about as close to pop-punk perfection as you’ve ever heard.” The UK’s Kerrang!, meanwhile, included the LP in their “51 Most Essential Pop Punk Albums of All Time” roundup. Both singles also fared well. “When I Get Home, You’re So Dead” was ranked on the New York Post’s 2007 “Best Songs to Download” list, while, in March 2024, the band celebrated the Platinum certification of “Jamie All Over.”
“This is the record that really started it all for Mayday Parade, and we’re happy to present this reprinting of something so important to us and to our fans,” shares guitarist and founding member Alex Garcia. “As a band we want to thank our fans for their continual support, and it really means so much that these songs still resonate even after almost 20 years.”
In the nearly two decades since they released A Lesson in Romantics, Mayday Parade—which features the band’s longtime line-up of Alex Garcia (lead guitar), Brooks Betts (rhythm guitar), Derek Sanders (co-lead vocals, piano), Jake Bundrick (co-lead vocals, drums) and Jeremy Lenzo (bass guitar)—has released a total of seven albums, including such bestselling titles as Mayday Parade (2011), Monsters in the Closet (2013) and, most recently, their acclaimed 2021 LP, What It Means to Fall Apart.
The band, who continues to keep fans on their toes with a string of new singles, will spend much of 2024 on the road, including a headlining spot on the Sad Summer Fest, plus performances at Las Vegas’s When We Were Young Festival, where they will be playing A Lesson in Romantics in full. For a full list of dates and more info, visit the band’s official website.
Click here to pre-order
Tracklist:
Side A
- Jamie All Over
- Black Cat
- When I Get Home, You’re So Dead
- Jersey
- If You Wanted A Song Written About You, All You Had To Do Was Ask
- Miserable At Best
Side B
- Walk On Water Or Drown
- Ocean And Atlantic
- I’d Hate To Be You When People Find Out What This Song Is About
- Take This To Heart
- Champagne’s For Celebrating (I’ll Have A Martini)
- You Be The Anchor That Keeps My Feet On The Ground, I’ll Be The Wings That Keep Your Heart In The Clouds
