Mayday Parade Continue Album Trilogy With 'Sad'

10-03-2025

(TS) Beloved emo trailblazers Mayday Parade release Sad, the highly anticipated second installment of their three-part album trilogy celebrating the band's 20th anniversary.

Sad, along with this past spring's Sweet and the forthcoming third chapter due out in 2026, mark Mayday Parade's first self-release since their 2006 debut EP Tales Told By Dead Friends, which they famously sold in Vans Warped Tour parking lots.

That DIY release went on to sell more than 50,000 copies and laid the foundation for a two-decade career, making the trilogy a true full-circle moment for the band.

Today's focus track is "Promises" (listen/watch HERE), a devastatingly honest song off Sad written by drummer/vocalist Jake Bundrick, who shared "I was on a ledge and in a terrible situation life threw at me with something I loved. The news was never good or better and I kept making myself believe it would eventually be. I felt alone even though I was sharing those same feelings with my wife. We had to make choices without knowing if they would make the situation better or worse. Sadly, nothing worked. The verses are about the morning it all went south. I haven't been the same since."

Sad also features previously released singles "One Day at a Time" - a nostalgic reflection on growth and self-forgiveness - and "Under My Sweater," which nods to the early 2000s pop-punk sound that helped define a generation. Produced once again with longtime collaborators Zack Odom and Kenneth Mount, the record finds Mayday Parade balancing atmosphere and introspection while retaining the sharp hooks, soaring choruses, and emotional honesty that have carried them across two decades.

With over 1.43 billion streams, multiple platinum and gold singles, and a catalog that helped shape modern emo and alternative rock, Mayday Parade remains as vital and energized as ever. The release of Sad comes just as the band kicks off their massive North American tour with All Time Low, launching next week and running through the fall, followed by an international leg in early 2026. The band is also confirmed to return to this year's When We Were Young Festival.