CD(s) of the Week: The Rocket Summer and Ben Kweller

THE ROCKET SUMMER
"DO YOU FEEL"
(Island, 2007)

and

BEN KWELLER
"BEN KWELLER"
(ATO, 2006)

I couldn't decide which of these two CDs to review this week, and then it occurred to me: why not do both? I don't think the artists have ever worked together, they record on different labels, and their CDs were released about a year apart (Ben Kweller's in 2006, and The Rocket Summer's just last month), but they complement each other very nicely. Aside from the incidental similarities -- both artists being in their twenties, and each of these titles being its respective artist's third album -- they both craft generally upbeat songs about life and love ... as much as a person in his twenties can know about those subjects without sounding pretentious. Plus, both of these albums signify something of a creative milestone for the artists.

The Rocket Summer is Bryce Avary and nobody else; he not only writes all his own songs, but on his previous two releases for the independent Militia Group label, he played every instrument himself ... this time around, however, he gets a little bit of help on a few songs. Avary's voice is something I imagine most people will either love or hate: it's got a little bit of an adolescent whine in places, but I find it rather endearing, for some strange reason. His brisk melodies and rambunctious arrangements, anchored primarily by a solid piano foundation, keep things fun through most of the album, which I consider his best yet. His previous albums seemed to wander a bit in places; but here he sounds more focused and, as a result, more self-assured. A few of the songs might sound similar to each other, but they're entertaining enough that you won't care.

Ben Kweller's self-titled third album is a bit of a change for him as well. He's always written his own material but, whereas he had a full band of players assisting him on instruments in his previous efforts, this time he took the one-man-band route that Bryce Avary has been used to, choosing to play each and every instrument himself. The result is his most enjoyable album of guitar-centric pop-rock yet; it sure sounds like he enjoyed the idea of being in total creative control (although he did have a producer). Kweller's songs are more subdued on average than Avary's, but no less appealing. He also has an imperfect voice (slightly off-key occasionally), but it's perfect for the kind of songs he sings.

This is going to sound a bit crazy, but I got an image in my head when I first listened to "Ben Kweller" a year ago: the image of Ben walking into my room without saying a word, sitting down in the corner on the floor facing my direction, and just smiling in silence, gently bobbing his head to the rhythm of each song as it played. It was simple: Ben Kweller the person was "Ben Kweller" the album, and the room (silly as this might sound) was my heart. I was reminded of that vision when I heard The Rocket Summer's new album -- in no uncertain terms, both of these albums have waltzed right into my music collection and made themselves comfortable. If you enjoy rough-around-the-edges singer-songwriter pop (less polished than, say, Teddy Geiger or Ryan Cabrera), you might as well buy both of these albums together; if you like one, you'll like the other.