The Rocket Summer crash lands with 'Of Men And Angels'

This article has been corrected.

Somewhere along his musical career Bryce Avary went wrong. Horribly wrong.

Returning with his much-anticipated follow up to 2007’s “Do You Feel,” Avary emerges with “Of Men And Angels,” a pop-rock album saturated with nothing but bland overtones and cheesy lyrics.

“You Gotta Believe,” the first single released off the album, is empty with cliché guitar chords and a standard drumbeat that should make listeners doze off more than tap their feet.

Not only does the musical structure lack any substance, but the lyrics are poorly written with just a lack of creativity in general, with lines like, “You gotta believe/ oh yeah/ you gotta be free.”

“Japanese Exchange Student” is perhaps one of Avary’s worst written songs. In the lyrics, Avary explains that he would prefer being a Japanese exchange student to the pop-rock star he is.

It also happens to be the first song in which Avary finds himself name-dropping other celebrities, like Beyonce and Paul McCartney.

It’s hard to say that there are no good songs on the album. “Roses” and the title track on the album, “Of Men and Angels,” both showcase Avary’s talents. It’s just that his talent is somewhat muddied by the yearning to write overly friendly pop songs.

Anyway you look at it, “Of Men And Angels” leaves a lot to be desired with Avary’s career as far as music is concerned. But it’s hard to feel anything, when you can’t feel the music.

Music reviewer Ian Mahan can be reached at verve@collegian.com