Quick, think of one thing you don’t like about The Rocket Summer…it’s okay, I’ve got nothing either. How could I have anything remotely negative to say about a band (I use that term loosely as there is only one very talented guy behind it by the name of Bryce Avary) whose past albums had titles like “Hello, Good Friend” and “Do You Feel?” Judging from the feel-good album titles alone, The Rocket Summer is not your average pop-rock band. It aims not for fame and fortune but for a means to spread its message. While other pop-rock acts sing about romantic relationships and heartbreak, The Rocket Summer takes a more daring approach, offering tracks about appreciating life and self-awareness. The band aims to spread love and it does just that in Of Men and Angels, its latest album on Island Def Jam records to be released on February 23, 2010.
I love it when I listen to a song and it changes my perspective of life in a matter of 3 or 4 minutes. I love it even more when there are other songs just like it compiled into one cohesive and well-crafted album like Of Men and Angels. Bryce Avary truly outdid himself with this one, kicking off the record with “Roses” which boasts of excellent percussion and a larger than life energy that not only embellishes the encouraging lyrics of the track, but also establishes the album’s optimistic tone.
The album continues to impress with the mellow “Hills and Valleys,” which initially sounds like a ballad and quickly transitions into an upbeat track that highlights Avary’s growth as a vocalist and benefits from the lighthearted feel that handclaps create. But if this track’s gorgeous piano intro leaves you wanting to listen to something slow and sentimental, then “Walls” is the way to go. The Rocket Summer broke my heart with this track, in a good way of course. If not brilliant for the tear-jerking harmonies in the last minute of the song, then “Walls” is great for its perfect inclusion of strings and vocal urgency.
However, the most memorable tracks on the album are those in which Avary shows his quirkier side. The choir-like “oohs” and snaps that initiate “Nothing Matters” makes it an immediate favorite, but perhaps what solidifies its genius status is that it has one of the best lines in the whole album, “I know it’s not too sexy but I’m singing ‘bout the blessings we get.” If that doesn’t get a smile out of you, then “Japanese Exchange Student” will. A good artist is one that namedrops in a song and gets away with it, but an extraordinary artist can namedrop both Beyonce and Paul McCartney in a song and come away with a track that still has substantial meaning. While the song is lighthearted and silly with lyrics like “Be nice to the Japanese exchange student” and “I love the Japanese, those from Japan and overseas like me,” it inevitably holds a bigger message, like all the tracks on this record, to be accepting of others in general. How he managed to teach a moral lesson through such unusual means is beyond me, but that is the genius of it.
This album isn’t much different from The Rocket Summer’s previous work, but I suppose it’s as the old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” While it does have more spiritual and introspective influences, Of Men and Angels stays true to The Rocket Summer’s lively and optimistic style and shows that growth without abandoning musical and lyrical roots is possible. The Rocket Summer is all about feeling good and spreading love, so it goes without saying that I love the good feeling that I get from this album and you will too.
Rating: 
(4.5/5)
Solid CD from Bryce. Different but in a good way.