Sunnyland (Mayday Parade album)

Sunnyland is the sixth studio album by American rock band Mayday Parade, released on June 15, 2018.

Background
In 2016, the group embarked on an anniversary tour for their Tales Told by Dead Friends (2006) EP, and later for their debut album A Lesson in Romantics (2007) in 2017.

Release
On April 11, 2018, the group announced they had signed to Rise Records. On May 3, Sunnyland was announced for release the following month. Alongside the announcement, a music video was released for "Piece of Your Heart", directed by Miguel Barbosa. On May 15, a lyric video was released for "Never Sure". On May 31, a music video was released for "It's Hard to Be Religious When Certain People Are Never Incinerated by Bolts of Lightning", directed by Miguel Barbosa. Sunnyland was released on June 15. The album was promoted with the band's appearance on the 2018 Warped Tour between June and August. An acoustic video of "Piece of Your Heart" was released on September 25. In October and November, the group went on a headlining US tour, with support from This Wild Life, William Ryan Key and Oh, Weatherly.

In January 2019, the band performed at 8123 Fest. On April 18, a music video was released for "Never Sure". On May 29, a music video was released for "Looks Red, Tastes Blue", directed by Marlon Brandope. In July and August, the band performed at the Sad Summer Fest; in-between dates of the tour, the band held co-headlining shows with State Champs, with support from Mom Jeans and Just Friends. Later in August, they appeared at the Reading and Leeds Festivals.

Critical reception
Sunnyland was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. Hannah Adamson of Melodic called the record, "a blend of previous albums and has songs that vary along all ends of the Mayday gamut." She praised tracks such as "Piece of Your Heart", "Always Leaving" and "Take My Breath Away" as songs that "sound like classic Mayday Parade." However, she was critical for the group's lack of versatile sound stating, "Mayday Parade is not departing from their typical sound quite enough, and appear to constantly be putting out different versions of the same thing."

Wall of Sound remarked, "The track list is amazing as it boasts songs with all different styles and it’s definitely not bland or boring in the slightest." They called "Take My Breath Away" as the standout track describing it as "raw, stripped back and packed full of emotion." Other tracks such as "Satellite" was praised for its "upbeat and fun sound with catchy lyrics."

Personnel
Credits for Sunnyland adapted from AllMusic.

Mayday Parade
 * Jake Bundrick – drums, vocals
 * Jeremy Lenzo – bass guitar, vocals
 * Derek Sanders – lead vocals, keyboard
 * Alex Garcia – lead guitar
 * Brooks Betts – rhythm guitar

Production
 * Alan Ashcraft – creative director
 * Jack Bartlett – assistant engineering
 * Howard Benson – producer
 * Brian Burnham – studio assistant
 * Zakk Cervini – additional production, engineering
 * Adam Chagnon – engineering
 * Zach Darf – assistant engineering
 * Paul DeCarli – digital editing
 * Trevor Dietrich – assistant engineering
 * John Feldmann – producer
 * Matthew Gordner – A&R
 * Hatsukazu "Hatch" Inagaki – engineering
 * Ted Jensen – mastering
 * Nik Karpen – mixing assistant
 * Jeremy Lenzo – photography
 * Chris Lord-Alge – mixing
 * Kevin Moore – art direction, design
 * Kenneth Mount – engineering, producer
 * Jon Nicholson – drum technician
 * Zack Odom – engineering, pedal steel, producer
 * Matt Pauling – additional production, engineering
 * Rafel Smolen – mixing assistant