Those of us here at Longwood might remember this band from their pretty awesome show at Oktoberfest last semester. If not, then you probably aren’t interested in grabbing their new album, “Wild & Free.” However, if you are, in fact, feeling some low-key country vibes splashed with some alternative rock undertones – then by all means, do listen.
A band that started out with an electric pop sound back in 2007 has certainly veered and taken their path down a very different road. It’s a little disorienting for the fans who have been with this band from the beginning, but it doesn’t feel as if they’re changing too much; it’s more like they’re finally finding the sound they were meant to have all along.
For those who are having enough of Taylor Swift’s songs but can’t shake that warm fuzzy feeling her lyrics can bring about, then search no further because A Rocket to the Moon is here to do the job. Songs like “First Kiss” and “Ever Enough,” just to name a few out the many, softly serenade and bring out the butterflies of an innocent, if not naïve, love ... much like T. Swift.
Not much changes from the heart-on-my-sleeve tunes of the album, except for maybe three out of the 13 tracks in total. The first is “Whole Lotta You,” which swings with a more upbeat party tempo and the second being “Going Out,” which shockingly lacks any love interest or southern romantic notions.
“Another Set of Wings” brings a different mood entirely. The emptiness and sadness is nearly tangible while listening to the melancholy vocals that sing of loss. It’s a striking contrast full of depression and morbidity to every other mushy song on the album, yet this might be why it invokes the rawest emotion heard from the band so far.
Overall, the album can become a little repetitive. The songs blend together almost all the way through with too many cliché filled lyrics. The effervescent tracks that sing of love might be sweet, if not for most people’s reality and cynicism getting in the way of the callowness.
The sad fact of life is that despite the blandness and lack of originality, it’s still easy to find yourself swaying to the easy melodies and singing along to the simple yet catchy choruses. This could mean that not all hope is lost for the band or their album’s success. As we’ve learned from copious amounts of terrible artists, it doesn’t matter if the music itself is awful and meaningless as long as it’s catchy enough to get us bobbing our heads.
