Release Date: September 9, 2022
Genre: Pop, Pop Rock
Label: Independent
The Scottsdale, Arizona-based pop/pop rock outfit The Summer Set is back with their forthcoming album, Blossom, after taking an indefinite hiatus in late 2017 and ultimately reforming the pop outfit in the summer of 2021. Earlier this year, The Summer Set hit the road with a stint of dates on this year's edition of Sad Summer Fest and had multiple sold-out headlining shows to bring their return full circle with their fans. The band is comprised of vocalist Brian Logan Dales, drummer Jess Bowen, guitarist and pianist John Gomez, and bassist Stephen Gomez. Their brand new album Blossom is an eight-track effort and is part one of a two-part album. The album's title takes heavy inspiration from the definition of blossom "to mature or develop in a promising or healthy way." The band broke up, and they all bloomed into the people they've become today. The album is about growth and togetherness. About letting go of the past and looking forward to the future. Additionally, Blossom was once again a self-produced collection of tunes by members John Gomez and Stephen Gomez (Dabin, TWIN XL, Sophia Scott, Glitch Mob). The Summer Set's Blossom opens with the intro track, "The Color of Everything." A piano ballad-style intro with all the synthy pop shades of The Summer Set sets the mood of the record immensely well. It bleeds right into the album's lead single, "Street Lightning." The ballady pop essence that listeners may have been hearing from The Summer Set for the last fifteen years is felt immediately in "Street Lightning." The song was one of the first written for the project when the band reconnected to make music. For the first time since they were seventeen years old, they wrote the track acoustically and built upon it in a bedroom studio in Arizona. Following is the alternative rock, pop rock mash-up, "My Own Medicine." It begins with a stripped-down feel with just an acoustic guitar. The song builds and builds to become a blend of alternative rock and pop rock. "My Own Medicine" is built around forceful guitar chords and is one of the album's most insatiable tunes with its bubbly melody, but still feels endless emotional and heartfelt.
Another single off of Blossom is the following number, "Teenagers." The full-blown pop rock track brings in the vocal talents from Against The Current frontwoman Chrissy Costanza. "Teenagers" is a song that looks back on young love, teenage romance, and carefree youth -a literal track of nostalgia. "Teenagers" is incredibly catchy and has Brian Logan Dales and Chrissy Costanza going back and forth reminiscing about their teenage years. If the previous few tracks haven't reeled you in, this fun and effervescent song will get you moving and singing along in no time. "Teenagers" isn't the only track on Blossom that has a feature. "FTS" features Gym Class Heroes frontman Travie McCoy -who recorded his verse at the very last minute. Musically, "FTS" is chock full of piano, thumping drums, and a wonderful saxophone solo! Ultimately, it's The Summer Set at their best with a powerful message to boot. "FTS" was written almost eight years ago by the band. "FTS" is an explicit riddled ode to the last two years of uncertainty with the pandemic and a blatant reminder to listeners to take a breath, focus on themselves, and let the rest go as life is short and do what you love and drown out the rest. The latest single off Blossom is "Hard Candy." Another endlessly catchy track that pairs well with what it details in its lyrics. While the song is another insatiable tune with its delightful melody, "Hard Candy" details a time when Dales was addicted to a lifestyle full of things that felt good at the moment but were really bad for him in the end. "Hard Candy" is the catchy tune to the late nights filled with reckless behaviour that ultimately had him crawling back time and time again for more. The guitar-driven number, "Famous," follows with yet another catchy tune. However, Blossom closes out with the heartfelt, sincere, and immensely honest acoustic song, "Back Together." The straight-from-the-heart musical number recounts the band's fallout in 2017 and how the band was brought back together in the early half of 2021. It's the perfect piece to end this brand new collection of songs with.
These eight new tracks on Blossom put to light that the band has never lost their creative spark with one another. With their turmoil left behind in the past, they still brought it into the writing process of Blossom and found a way to get past it further by facing it head-on and detailing it in some of these eight new tracks. This collection of songs still sounds endlessly like The Summer Set, and while not bringing in many new sounds and ideas, they stick to their roots, and their distinct selves bleed to the surface of each track leaving you with exactly what the band has been for the last fifteen years. You can preorder Blossom on vinyl here or pre-save the album here.
