The Summer Set "Everything's Fine"

SO I see the album cover, and the title, and think say, but now let’s get to what really matters. How is the music? Everything’s Fine. A Good fine or a bad fine? A good fine is no fine, and a bad fine may cost you a couple g’s. But seriously, let’s start with something real original: a song “About a Girl.” It starts out like acoustic All American Rejects that captures that agony from the debut without the slight whine that was omnipresent on that record (good, though), and then we find we were never in a garage because the strings take off the blindfolds and we are in a valley, or something. This next song’s pop prescence has been said to be undeniable, and tempting to cover: a love in retrospect filled with driving drums and a slight twang that recalls the one that got away. The rhythm of this next song may influence your mood in the best possible way that recalls a style that Michael Franti is very well in pursuing, except Brian Dales is the one singing about “Someone Like You.” The following song was written in hopes that a relationship can be taken “Back to the Start.”The energetic delivery (especially in th chorus) in cohoots with this funky disco rhythm that not only proclaims we r who we r, but is also hot hot hot! What has come over me? Do I make any sense? AM I MAD?!! Of course not, but it “Must be the Music.” This next song tells a tale of two persistent lovers living life on the run “Thick as Thieves,” but I’m not sure if it was because of the stolen bag of reggae CDs. Daddy’s little daughter is in her rebellion stage, but hopefully he does not lose his job; because he’s a cop. It is disgusting to see some  girls treated like a sex object by someone who only sees a voiceless “Mannequin.” In the next song Dales watches in agony as that special girl is entangled in one of those depressing and demeaning relationships. The “Mona Lisa” is widely respected and recognized as one of those masterworks; this song may not captivate as many people around the world, but is still an adorable song none the less. Maybe I should “Begin Again” because you might be offended. “I play the part, but I can only apologize/One million times before it don’t mean sh**/And you know it,” so I will avoid doing so unless I mean it. Fair? The next song just proves that they have the chops to make many memorable hooks even if they use similar tricks in a song that is sort of  I love the distinctive voice of Dales, and the subtle tones, or the fact that “Our hearts drum like pots and pans/I’m a conductor/you’re the marching band” does not mean I want to make “Love To You.” The final song is not unlike the embrace of the one you love; it is more so about the whole situation. My Favorites: About a Girl, Must Be The Music, Thick as Thieves, Begin Again, and Love To You.