The Rocket Summer, power-pop brainchild of DFW-based multi-instrumentalist Bryce Avary, has already released three albums of his sugary summertime pop with consistently wise and inspirational lyrics. The last album, 2007’s near masterpiece Do You Feel, was released by Island Def Jam Records and gave Avary the kind of attention he deserves: he writes and plays every instrument for his extraordinary songs. His new album, Of Men and Angels, is no different. In fact, there lies the problem.
When one man makes all the decisions and writes all the parts for his own music, he will undoubtedly be repeating himself. He has no outside influences or ideas to help him change or grow his music, so this man will start repeating his own ideas and songs. The Rocket Summer’s fourth album still contains the great sing-a-long anthems (“You Gotta Believe”), beautiful harmonies (“Something to Live For”), rocking guitars (“Roses”) and breath-taking layers of instrumentation (“Let You Go” and “Hills and Valleys”) that Avary’s fans have come to expect. But for all of those great songs, there are also songs like “Walls,” a ballad with a piano line uncomfortably similar to older songs, an inevitable build-up with violin flourishes, and the clichéd anti-depression refrain “I’ll help you break the walls down.”
Trying to balance moral righteousness with the life of a famous (and married) touring musician has given Avary plenty of strong stories to sing about, but even his lyrics have flaws. The album’s title track successfully shows Avary declining the life of fame, but “Japanese Exchange Student” tries to relate his popular image to the likes of Beyonce’, Paul McCartney, and Japanese students. A slight change of pace is “Tara, I’m Terrible,” an acoustic love song devoted to Avary’s wife, but the song probably should have stayed private because it doesn’t have the songwriting quality to deserve its spot on the album.
Avary’s talent will always be commendable for the fact that he can write four albums completely singlehandedly, but he needs to get some new help or start dabbling in new styles if he wants to keep his new music fresh. Otherwise, his large amount of talent will continue down a misled path toward redundancy and irrelevance.
3.5 out of 5 stars
