Nothing gets a party going like good friends, good times, and good music. And good music is just what A Rocket to the Moon does best.
The band was originally the solo project of singer/guitarist Nick Santino way up there in Braintree, Massachusetts in 2006. Although his songs make me think of Hellogoodbye and Never Shout Never, I highly recommend you avoid his original music for fear of terrible auto-tuning and bland beats.
Instead, fast forward to 2008. Santino, with the help of The Maine, formed a group for A Rocket to the Moon to appear with at The Bamboozle. The band consisted of Nick Santino (lead vocals), Eric Halvorsen (bass guitar), Justin Richards (lead guitar), and Andrew Cook’s (drums). That’s when Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy heard their songs and became interested. Though Wentz and ARTTM never did do a Fueled by Ramen/Decaydance split, it was only a few short months till Santino and the boys were signed in a contract to Fueled by Ramen. And then they blasted off.
With an emo feel and a pop hook, A Rocket to the Moon has produced some of the best pop-rock music of the decade. The top songs that I recommend are “Fool Everyone”, “If Only they Knew”, and “Mr. Right” because they have that catchy tune, thoughtful lyrics, and great vocals that makes you hit repeat on your iPod till it implodes.
The group’s latest album, The Rainy Day Sessions EP, features the dynamic duo Larkin Poe. I highly recommend this if you like any of the songs from On Your Side (my personal favorite album) because the EP includes remade versions of the tracks.
Now, I do emphasize that Santino’s early sound falls somewhere between a T-Pain auto-tune nightmare and toddler’s first time around a microphone. So if any of his music from the Summer 2007 EP comes on the radio, change the station. Quick.
But if you’re looking for good party music, tracks to tan to on the beach, or quite simply a new favorite song, you know who to type in on Youtube.