If you've read my other posts, you know how much I've bashed The Summer Set for this record. You would also know how big of a fan I used to be. It's kind of embarrassing how bad this really is.
Prior to the release yesterday, I had only heard "F**k U Over", "Boomerang", "Maybe Tonight", and "Lightning In A Bottle." I am aware of all the full-length streams they had and the week they released all the songs. But I just wanted to wait until I could listen to the album as a whole.
In all honesty, I don't know how I managed to sit through almost an hour of this. Before I get into the song by song review, just let me point out a few things that really irked me.
First of all, while listening to each song, I found the same question continually popping into my head: if I went to watch them perform this album live, would the band even be playing? Not saying I'd ever spend money to see them perform live again, but it's just a baffling thought. Would they be playing? Or would they be standing there pretending to play while a pre-recorded track of all the synthesizer shit was played and Brian sang to it? That's what it seems like, so I decided to find out. I Youtubed "Boomerang live" and this is what I found. It's funny, because I was at this show, but unfortunately I had to leave after they performed "Young" because my car had been towed and I had to work all that out :'(. I can assure you, though, had I been there when this started I would have left anyways.
Back to my point, watch that video and tell me that 70% of what you hear isn't pre-recorded. And what the fuck was up with his voice? How can you think that sounds good?
Secondly, the exact same theme appears in almost every song. And it's not even a good theme. I'm sure if you heard the album you can guess what I'm referring to. Yes, drinking, being drunk, and a some random girl in a bar.
Now I'm all for a song that tells the story of how a guy or girl met another guy or girl in a bar and went home and fell in love and all that jazz. Some of those actually make great songs. But to repeat the same thing over, and over, and over, and over just puts a damper on the whole record. And I would say that having 6 out of the 12 songs talking about the same thing would get boring, really fast. And believe me, it does.
-Jukebox (Life Goes On)
-Heart On The Floor
-Happy For You
-7 Days
-Rescue
-Legendary
Those are the songs that include the themes of drinking and being drunk. It gets old very fast. Is that all you do with your life, go to bars and drink, meet some girl and have a one night stand and think it's love, only to have her gone and a new one in the next week? It must be since you obviously don't spend a lot of time writing music. I thought so much more of this band, I really did.
And the last few things I want to point out about the overall record are, (and I know now I'm the one sounding repetitive, and I apologize), the synthesizers and painfully obvious auto tune. Like I said before, if you were to go see them live, I don't even really know how much the band would be required to play, that much of it seems fake to me. Brian could just stand up there and sing to the prerecorded track and it'd sound like the record. The auto tune is just..gross. I know auto tune is a very common tool used with producing and recording. To some extent though, TSS should have laid off of it. It's hard to listen to because he sounds like a fucking robot. You'd be greatly disappointed if you went to a show to hear him and that's what you were expecting.
I have a lot more I want to say but I don't feel my time is worth this record, so I'm just going to get into the song-by-song.
1. "Maybe Tonight"
This song is one of the only ones I would actually put on my phone and listen to occasionally. The beginning speech is my favorite part about it:
"And then suddenly, it hit me. That moment where you realize you're not half empty. That moment of all moments. Like there is music in the night and we can dance the sun out of the sky. These are the nights where everything feels possible. Maybe someday we'll fall short of the stories we tell, but tonight we're more than just words on a page. We are here, we are different, and we are everlasting. We are half moon kids. We are legendary."
This is what I was expecting out of the whole album, they hyped it up to be some kind of inspirational anthem for the kids who are lost in life, for the ones who are trying to find themselves, and then you listen to the rest of it and hear about being drunk, a girl in a bar, and the occasional night out with friends. Inspiring, right?
2. "Jukebox (Life Goes On)
The first thing you hear is how he goes into a bar he frequents so often that everyone knows him. Good example, Brian. Then again with the (not so) mysterious girl in the bar. More on how drinking gives you confidence. Let's just encourage everyone to go to a bar and get drunk, why don't you. The song is something I could see a lot of people who listen to bands/artists like One Direction, Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Demi Lavato, and used-to-be Disney stars liking. It's chorus is meant to be uplifting and seems to be hinting at sort of a "YOLO" type of message.
3. "Boomerang"
This song was good the first time I heard it, but the more I listen to it the more irritating it gets. I've deleted it off my phone and out of my iTunes. Waste of $1.29. It's chorus is meant to appeal to the mainstream audience, and not just because it references Jay-Z and Beyoncé, just the overall feel of it, I suppose. I'll admit, at first it is catchy and it's a track I could imagine a lot of people dancing to. If you're into mainly pop, you'd like it. I don't really have anything good to say about it, so I'll leave it at that.
4. "Lightning In A Bottle"
"Lightning In A Bottle" is all about living it up and just having the time of your life. It's a song that I'm sure will appear on a lot of peoples' summer playlists, and maybe even headline them. I can see why, but it's not a good song in my opinion. The lyrics don't make much sense to me and the message is cliché. The auto tune over powers everything else and I have only been able to sit through it once. Surprising I even managed that.
5. "Heart On The Floor (ft. Dia Frampton)"
Again with the drinking, seeing a girl in a bar, and using your intoxicated state as motivation to talk to her. What is the deal? Honestly, the first time I heard it I laughed. What the hell kind of chorus is that? Not only does it leave you hanging, but it sounds like a song that would appear in a TV show that they had to think up within like a week. Do you know what I mean? Like how some TV shows have an episode where it's a musical or something, and they have stupid songs that all the actors sing throughout the show. I can't think of an example but I hope you get what I'm saying. It sounds completely...fake. It sounds like he is legitimately drunk when he recorded it. He must have been if he thought it sounded good.
6. "F**k U Over"
This song is my favorite off the album. It's no less of a victim of auto tune or synthesizers than the rest of them, but this one seems genuine. I don't know why, I don't understand how my mind works, it's just the best track to me. It's catchy, there's no talking of drinking or a girl in a bar, it's just the "innocent" story of how someone just wanted to have fun and someone else fell in love, and hence, felt fucked over. It's a song a lot of people can relate to, in my opinion. It's the only one worth buying besides "Maybe Tonight".
7. "Happy For You"
This song seems an attempt at one of those cute-sy type of tracks. Or a heart broken one, I can't really tell. I mean, if it weren't for the lyrics you'd never know. I can't hear over the auto tune and the beat seems melodic and almost upbeat, but he's singing about a girl he loves that's with someone else and as much as it hurts, he's happy to see her happy. Or so he says. How happy can you really be watching someone you love be with someone else? I don't know, but either way, for the people going through something similar, it's a track you can relate to and maybe find relief or comfort in. Again there's drinking involved, but who cares? That's what the cool people in bands do, right? So it must be okay. (Sarcasm if you didn't catch it.)
8. "The Way We Were"
I considered buying this song. It pulls you in and it's catchy, but the robotic tone to his voice and no audible music other than synthesizers was a deal killer for me. It reminds me, in an odd way, of "Back To The Start" and "When We Were Young". You know, back when The Summer Set made good music. Seems so long ago now. Anyways, it appeals to a large audience, I'm sure. A lot of people have that ex they never really got over, or that relationship that never should have ended. It's a good song to blast when you're feeling down, and maybe you could even send it to the special someone to see if it sparks something in them to give it another shot.
9. "7 Days"
I don't really know where to start with this one. Uninteresting topic of the typical dysfunctional relationship where the two involved seem nowhere near right for each other, but it some how works out. I could see a lot of girls seeing the chorus being cute. I disagree, but again, a lot of people probably disagree with everything I'm saying, so what do I know? On a positive note, I can hear some acoustic guitar in this track! They're making progress, finally! On the ninth track of the album..
10. "Someday"
I listened to this for the first time when they streamed it with "Heart On The Floor" about a week ago. When I first heard it, I thought it was going to be one of the tracks I actually put on my phone. Wrooong. The only thing I like about it is the drum beat that I can actually make out and the acoustic guitar at the veeerrrryyy end. It's surprising what instruments do for a song, right? Surprise, surprise, synthesizers aren't required to produce a good song! You'd never know it listening to this album, though. Besides that, the lyrics are good, I admit. They're inspiring like "Maybe Tonight" and it's the kind of thing I was expecting when I heard the intent of the album.
11. "Rescue"
Immediately upon hearing the intro I thought of "Move Along" by The All American Rejects, just for like the first second, so that rose my expectations higher than they already were, since that's such a great song. It's safe to say that this, along with the rest of the album, fell way short. I got extremely sick of hearing about drinking by this point, so I literally groaned at the first lyric. Then when the chorus hit, I felt like I was watching "The Lion King" or something. Now, knowing what a Disney fanatic Brian Dales is, he might take that as a compliment. But believe me, it's not.
12. "Legendary"
This song was a let down. I'd heard a lot about it before it was released, so I thought it would easily be the best song on the album. It might be one of my least favorites. It wasn't surprising to hear the lines about drinking, again, but it was disheartening. Some people may like the references to things like Peter Pan and "How I Met Your Mother", but for me it just seems cheesy. Sorry to say that they couldn't even finish off the album on a good note.
Obviously, I didn't like this album one bit. Out of 5 stars I'd give it half of one, if that. I'm deeply disappointed and no longer as big of a fan of the band as I once was. I hate having to bash on them, but they deserve it. If it was me, I'd be embarrassed to release this after "Love Like This" and "Everything's Fine". Had this album been the first time I had heard of them, I would have listened to "Maybe Tonight" and left when "Jukebox (Life Goes On)" got past the first verse, flagging them as the pop shit I try so hard to stay away from.
To the people who remain fans, and the new fans coming in, good luck with them, and don't count on this sound staying how it is. Next year they'll probably release an album similar to Faber Drive's "Lost In Paradise". Go take a listen to that and tell me the thought of that doesn't scare you.
As for me, I'm done with this band and I've lost complete faith in them. Maybe one day they'll release something that pulls me back in, but I doubt it. They're a sell out and sad excuse for a band, and all that the un-deserved success is going to do is boost their already too-big ego.
If you want my opinion, I would advise you NOT to buy "Legendary". Don't support this and make them think what they're doing is okay.
If you disagree, I'm sorry if you don't like what I've said but I do understand there's people who still like them and this record, and to all you I say I'm happy that TSS continues to make you happy, I hope you continue to support them if that's what you want, and if you feel they deserve the success, well, then congratulations.
