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7 out of 10
A Rocket To The Moon are another new band from the Fueled By Ramen record label, the same one that has brought us releases by Paramore and Panic! At The Disco. If a band's MySpace page is any indication of potential success, then with over 110,000 ’friends’ and a staggering 27 million plays with only one EP released, A Rocket To The Moon are way on their way to becoming a household name.
’Annabelle’ and ’Mr Right’ kick things off nicely, two slices of typical American pop-rock which set the theme of the record early: girls and relationships. A she or her is mentioned in pretty much every song and as a result some of the lyrics are a bit clichéd. Despite this, the album contains a strong set of upbeat, cheerful songs. ’She’s Killing Me’, ’Dakota’ and ’Life Of The Party’ are a further three of these types of songs on the album. It is here that A Rocket To The Moon thrive, the songs scream summer and should cause the sourest listener to crack a smile, the clean and crisp production, courtesy of Matt Squire (All Time Low, Panic! At The Disco) help maintain this illusion.
Frontman Nick Santino has the sort of pleasant voice that you can just imagine hearing in the background of a prom scene from a Californian teen soap. ’Like We Used To’ demonstrates this well, a beautiful, delicate song about an old relationship that proves to be the album's high point. From here on in the album never quite hits the heights of the first half without ever really becoming boring. ’Sometimes’ and the title track don’t quite match the quality of some of what proceeds them, but they are not enough to write off the album as a result.
As most of their label mates, A Rocket To The Moon will appeal to teen emo/rock fans, and in particular, female fans. You can’t fault the label, they have a model for selling to this booming market and they show no signs of running out of variations with which to do it. It’s just that, as happens with all musical trends, the quality gets diluted after a while. This is not bad, but at the same time it’s nothing new and it’s now getting to the point where this is true for most of the bands of the genre, there are very few bands actually doing anything new and worthwhile. If you’re a fan of Dashboard Confessional and their peers, then you can add this band to the music section of your MySpace profile, otherwise it’s something that you’ve probably already decided isn’t your thing.
Listen: www.myspace.com/arockettothemoon
Tracklist:
1. Annabelle
2. Mr Right
3. She’s Killing Me
4. On A Lonely Night
5. Dakota
6. Life Of The Party
7. Like We Used To
8. Where Did You Go
9. Sometimes
10. Baby Blue Eyes
11. Give A Damn
12. On Your Side
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