In this week's Highlights:

Band of the Week: Mayday Parade
Released Last Week (September 9th, 2008)
Released Today
Album Review: Swan Songs
News from Taylor
Tour Spotlight


Band of the Week: Mayday Parade

This week's band, Mayday Parade, is also featured in the tour spotlight. Mayday Parade is a quintet out of Tallahassee, Florida who have released one album, A Lesson In Romantics, and one EP, Tales Told By Dead Friends. Band members include Derek Sanders (vocals), Jeremy Lenzo (bass quitar), Alex Garcia (guitar), Brooks Betts (guitar), and Jake Bundrick (drums). Mayday Parade is best described as rock or punk with a truly unique sound that anyone's sure to love. Mayday Parade played Warped Tour all of this summer and will be heading out with All Time Low in the fall.

maydayparaderocks.com
myspace.com/maydayparade
purevolume.com/maydayparade

[Written by Taylor.]


Released Last Week (September 9th, 2008):

A Static Lullaby - Rattlesnake! (Fearless)
Bart Davenport - Palaces (Antenna Farms Music)
Boston Spaceships - Brown Submarine (Guided By Voices Inc.)
Brian "Head" Welch - Save Me From Myself (Driven)
Calexico - Carried To Dust (Quarterstick)
Chad VanGaalen - Soft Airplane (Sub Pop)
Civet - Hell Hath No Fury (Hellcat)
Damien Jurado - Caught In The Trees (Jagjaguwar)
Gym Class Heroes - The Quilt (Fueled By Ramen)
Innerpartysystem - This Is Entertainment (Island)
Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue (Warner Bros.)
Kraak & Smaak - Plastic People (Ultra)
Locksley - Don't Make Me Wait [reissue] (Fontana)
Man Without Wax - Anchor (Eyeball)
Mock Orange - Captain Love (Wednesday)
Okkervil River - The Stand Ins (Jagjaguwar)
Parenthetical Girls/aka (((GRRLS))) - Entaglements (Tomlab)
People In Planes - Beyond The Horizon (Wind-Up)
Rahim - Laughter (Pretty Activity)
Ray Lamontagne - Gossip In The Grain (RCA)
Scream Hello - Everything Is Always Still Happening (Red Leader)
Shitdisco - Kingdom Of Fear (Dim Mak)
Static Thought - The Motive For Movement (Hellcat)
The Action Design - Never Say (Popsmear)
The Alternate Routes - The Watershed EP (Vanguard)
The Dead Science - Villionaire (Constellation)
The Forward - Nothing But Teeth (Self-released)
The New Year - The New Year (Touch And Go)
The Sound Of Animals Fighting - The Ocean And The Sun (Epitaph)
United Nations - United Nations (Eyeball)
Various Artists - Of Great And Mortal Men: 43 Songs For 43 Presidencies (Standard)
Young Widows - Old Wounds (Temporary Residence Ltd.)

Released Today:

Adventure - Adventure (Carpark)
Alexander Tucker - Portal (ATP)
All That Remains - Overcome (Razor & Tie)
Amanda Palmer - Who Killed Amanda Palmer (Roadrunner)
Breathe Carolina - It's Classy, Not Classic (Rise)
Burst - Lazarus Bird (Relapse)
Dead Confederate - Wrecking Ball (Razor & Tie)
Gary Louris and Mark Olson - Ready For The Flood (Hacktone)
Jonezetta - Cruel To Be Young (Tooth & Nail)
Kimya Dawson - Alphabutt (K)
Light Yourself On Fire - Intimacy (Seventh Rule)
Portugal. The Man - Censored Colors (Equal Vision)
Punchline - Just Say Yes (Modern Short Stories)
The Star Fucking Hipsters - Until We're Dead (Fat Wreck Chords)
This Or The Apocalypse - Monuments (Lifeforce)
Unwritten Law - Live & Lawless CD/DVD (Suburban Noize)

[Release lists from altpress.net - click here for more information.]


Album Review: Swan Songs

Swan Songs - Hollywood Undead (A&M/Octone Records)
[Released September 2nd, 2008]


With their debut album, Swan Songs, California's Hollywood Undead show exactly what they're made of. Combining elements of rap, rock and metal, Hollywood Undead bring a unique sound to the industry. Swan Songs is an explosion of sarcastic and catchy raps that jab at the pop culture of today. Already a massive hit online thanks to website such as MySpace and Imeem, Hollywood Undead bring something a little new to their already loyal fan base while also having massive appeal to new listeners.

Swan Songs is a combination of all that makes music good. The sarcastic "Everywhere I Go" and the hit that brought them Internet fame, "No. 5", appeal to the rap side of Hollywood Undead, while other songs, such as "Young" and opener "Undead" bring a more rock- and metal-based beat and song-style. Swan Songs is catchy and not a single track fails to impress and is sure to appeal to music fans of all genres. This debut is sure to only be a peek at things to expect out of this six man group from California.

[Written by Amber.]


News from Taylor

All Time Low will be recording a new album this winter! Boys Like Girls will be doing a small college tour with Cute Is What We Aim For and Lights, so head to their MySpace for tour dates. Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls will be releasing a solo album called "Who Killed Amanda Palmer", which is now on presale. Check their MySpace blog for more. A mixtape of sorts can be found on Fall Out Boy's FriendsorEnemies Page which includes tracks from Cobra Starship, The Cab, Fall Out Boy, Hey Monday, and many more.

If you want to stream Gym Class Heroes' new ablum, hear a track not on their album, and read more news about them, click here. There's too much to fit here! I am Ghost's new single, "Bone Garden", can be purchased here. The Matches have released their new video, "Yankee in a Chip Shop" and can be seen here. Motion City Soundtrack just recorded a new video, but no news on which song. In MCR news, Gerard Way dyed his hair red (or pink) and Mikey Way will be writing his own comic book. More details are on the way.

For all you Rock Band fans, a Rock Band Tour pack will be available soon, featuring all of the bands on the Rock Band Tour. MTV recently interviewed Paramore about their new album, and the article can be read here. Say Anything will be heading into the studio in January to start work on their new record, and you can watch performances of two new songs here. You can pre-order Senses Fail's new album here. Sherwood is heading out on tour with The Pink Spiders and The Reign of Kindo. Here are more details. A tour announcement from The Spill Canvas can be read here. Taking Back Sunday's album is still untitled, and it is NOT When All Is Said And Done More Is Said Than Done.

[Written by Taylor.]


Tour Spotlight

This week's tour is the "Compromising of Integrity, Morality, and Principles in Exchange for Money" tour with All Time Low, Mayday Parade, The Maine, and Every Avenue. The tour begins October 9th and ends November 29th. Don't miss out! Tour dates can be found below.

10.9.08 - Norfolk, VA @ The Norva
10/10 Cheswick, PA @ Gravity Nightclub
10/11 Allentown, PA @ Crocodile Rock Café
10/12 New York, NY @ Roseland Ballroom
10/15 Charlotte, NC @ Tremont Music Hall
10/16 Jacksonville Beach, FL @ Free Bird Live
10/17 Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
10/18 Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
10/19 St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Landing
10/20 Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
10/22 Houston, TX @ House of Blues
10/23 Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
10/24 McAllen, TX @ El Rey Theatre
10/25 Austin, TX @ La Zona Rose
10/27 Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theatre
10/28 Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theater
10/29 Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
11/22 Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
11/29 Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory


Note: We apologize for not getting Highlights out last week! We're still getting the hang of things with posting every week again.