In the hands of Mandopop visionaries like Lo Ta-You in the ’80s, rock ’n’ roll was a larger-than-life revolution destabilising the status quo. But Mayday—coming out of the band boom scene of the late ’90s—make anthems for the ordinary, with an uplifting, British rock-inspired sound tempered by a down-to-earth sensibility. From teen romance to work life, Mayday find humour, hope and passion in everyday life. Swiftly rising to become one of Mandopop’s most beloved acts, the group helped popularise rock as the quintessential pop element in the early noughties across the C-pop world. Lead singer Ashin Chen’s lyrics capture the nuances of life’s bitter and sweet moments with an emotional intensity matched by the band’s piano-and-guitar riffage, yielding both the reflectivity of “突然好想你” (“Suddenly Missing You So Bad”) and the propulsion of “離開地球表面” (“Leaving the Earth’s Surface”).