reviews
FILE UNDER: Punky power-pop
The Summer Set - Love Like ThisScott Heisel on 10/2/09 @ 7:00 AM
Some moments are timeless, sealed in amber by circumstances never to be repeated. The debut LP by power-pop quintet the Summer Set suggests the final days of summer on the verge of high school, full of possibility, innocence and girl chasing. It's light-hearted without being too lightweight or naïve. Beneath Love Like This' big choruses and racing, sugar-coated guitar riffs is a subtle tension between the promise of a new world opening up and the intimidation of the same thing. These Scottsdale, Arizona, phenoms can certainly appreciate that. When the band formed in 2007, guiding force brothers Stephen and John Gomez were still in high school. Now, lead singer Brian Dales is dating JONAS actress Chelsea Staub, for whom he penned the punchy, lovelorn lead single, "Chelsea." What a difference a couple years makes, right?
That time hasn't only transformed their love lives, it's infused the music, which bristles with energy. While always capable with a hook, earlier releases were more awash in texture. Love Like This revs persuasively, balancing its gentler aspects with spirited blasts of hook-lined guitars. Opener "The Boys You Do (Get Back At You)" brackets a pretty, drifting acoustic-guitar figure with full-bore choruses, as Dales promises vengeance on his ex by sleeping with her friends. This friction between the promise, pain and fear of love drives the album. When not "passed out on a bathroom floor, still drunk from the night before" ("Punch-Drunk Love"), these underage kids are worrying about body-shot-pounding neighbor girls singing, "Pour some sugar on me," lamenting their bad influence ("Girls Freak Me Out"). It's all about negotiating these treacherous shoals, and trying to maintain their positivity. "Life's just what you make of it," Dales reassures on the vibrant "Take It Slow," encouraging his friend that she's better off on her own.
There are occasional missteps. "Can You Find Me?" mines the keyboard-addled Postal Service torpor of earlier efforts, sticking out like a pimple at the end of your nose among the other harder-charging tracks. While the boastful shout-along "This Is How We Live," comes off a little trite and self-indulgent, that's fortunately the next to last track. It's redeemed by the pretty, album-closing ballad, "Where Are You Now?" featuring Meg and Dia Frampton, whose reflective tones are spiced with sweet harmonies and some evocative guitar in the break. Overall, it's an excellent effort that's tuneful and self-aware without sinking to lowest-denominator whining or profiling, displaying refreshing honesty in exploring both sides of love's coin. While youth is not eternal, its conundrums are, and the Summer Set run through them with a spirit that sweeps you up in their wake. (RAZOR & TIE) Chris Parker
GO DOWNLOAD: "Punch-Drunk Love"
Official Website: http://www.razorandtie.com
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