The Summer Set - 'Stories For Monday' Album Review

Tracklist: 1. Figure Me Out 2. The Night Is Young 3. Missin' You 4. Jean Jacket 5. All My Friends 6. Change Your Mind 7. All Downhill From Here 8. All In 9. Wonder Years 10. When The Party Ends (Can't Hardly Wait) 11. Wasted

Once or twice every so often, I hear the name “The Summer Set” from a few friends, or from a Facebook post about which bands to listen to. I've never really kept note that much, and as a result, went in completely fresh, not knowing what to expect from this new album.

The album is well written. The lyrics especially were superb throughout, and on a couple of occasions definitely spoke to me. “All My Friends” and “When The Party Ends” were of particular note, so much so that I woke up humming them on a number of occasions.

The tracks feel very radio friendly, and musically very accomplished. And for me bring comparisons of bands such as The 1975, Walk The Moon and Bastille. You could see this band being on the same bill with these bands on a festival quite easily, and gaining new fans and followers all over.

However, despite all of this, the album left me a little numb. It didn't aim to do anything new, or distance itself from the bands I mentioned previously and felt even a little safe, and on further listening, I kept noticing little parts taken from other songs and bands. It took a while, but I could hear the familiar notes of songs by The Who, and even One Direction. Maybe not intentional, but again, the familiarity of it, took away from the experience of listening to the lyrics and musical ability of the band.

There's no doubt The Summer Set will gain further fans from this album, and I doubt that old fans will be disappointed, but personally, I've not enjoyed it as much as I thought I would. There are so many bands of a similar genre and style out there, that it didn't stand out to me as much as I hoped.

Stand Out Tracks: All My Friends, When The Party Ends