The Rocket Summer: Life Will Write the Words

Genre(s): Pop, Indie, Rock
Release Date: June 5, 2012

The Rocket Summer, a.k.a. Bryce Avary, has branched out with his own label, Aviate Records. Life Will Write the Words arguably has a higher recording and production quality than anything he released on S/R/E Records or Island Def Jam. This isn't surprising, as Avary has been writing and composing every song he's recorded, and played every instrument to boot. Adding successful producer and record label owner to his resume is the logical next step, and this album clearly shows that.

For a few weeks now, we've had our hands on the first single, "Run and Don't Stop." The only bad thing I can say about this song is that it sounds like it could easily fit on Do You Feel, which means it sounds like something we've already heard. Still, you can't deny the quality of every song he puts out. Also, it's refreshing to hear love songs with a clean mindset; instead of listening to pop/punk/indie bands lusting after the girls they can't get, we get to hear Avary sing about how wonderful it is to be married to the best girl. In my opinion, that is much more swoon-worthy than anything Fall Out Boy could put together.

One song really stuck out as different from the normal, but I couldn't tell if this was a "good" normal or a "bad" normal. "Just For a Moment Forget Who You Are" sounds like it was written for someone else. The chord progression and arrangement sound more like something off of Daughtry's albums, or maybe a cast aside track from Goo Goo Dolls. It's almost like Avary forgot who he was for a moment, which is a shame, because he's one of the most original acts out there on the indie scene. 

I have to admit that I always look forward to the slow songs on Avary's albums. So, naturally, I was disappointed to wait 9 tracks to hear it. "Soldiers" did not disappoint. Avary delivers the passion, emotion, and quality I've come to expect from him in this track. If everything else on the album sounds like something I've heard before, this track makes up for it. The slow songs that Avary chooses for each album are the moments when he lets his heart bleed. For those who remember, "Christmas Present" off of Hello Good Friend could guilt a mass murderer into surrendering, or a billionaire into building a homeless shelter. "Soldier" blurs the lines between spiritual warfare and wars of flesh and blood, and the losses in both, with lyrics like "And in heaven, maybe he's/Smiling down on me/But behind those doors of my heart, I am crying/If I said it was easy always, I'd be lying." Heaven help you if you can't relate to that.

Overall, this is an album worth picking up. The upbeat tracks make a perfect summer soundtrack, and the depth of the lyrics will tug at your heart and your conscience better than most of the junk that the indie pop/punk genre has been throwing at us for the past 10 years. Life Will Write the Words is a sweet treat that you won't have to feel guilty about, and is sure to keep you in a good mood. But you'll be hard pressed to find an album from Avary that isn't. With a new label, I'm excited to see what else he puts out.