_{By Trevor Myers}

If there’s a list of inaccurately named projects by local artists somewhere, Summer’s End by RALLY should be at the top of it. And that’s not a bad thing. The main reason being that, on first listen, the project sounds like songs you would want to hear at the beginning of summer — songs with catchy tunes that make you look toward the fun ahead. Some listeners may put the album on expecting to hear songs mourning the end of summer, but that’s not exactly the case for this project.

RALLY, made up of Alec Whitaker, Duncan McKay and Sean Rostrom, combines influences of surf, indie pop and alt-rock. The trio formed in 2018 in Salt Lake City, but has quickly gained both international and local listeners. In fact, most Spotify users listening to their songs are playing their music all the way in Finland — beating the number of fans listening from Salt Lake City.

Summer’s End was released in August of 2020, which likely lends more of an explanation toward the title of the project. RALLY opens the project with guitar solos mixed with the sounds of seagulls and the ocean, presenting a distinct but pretty classic sound. The songs, like the title of the EP, are somewhat deceptive as well; just like the songs sound like summer despite being part of a project titled Summer’s End, the groovy tunes of the songs don’t match up with some of the lyrics that talk about waiting on a lover and asking to not wait much longer.

As this article was being written, Spotify reports that only 2,522 people listen to RALLY each month. Despite their relatively small audience, their song “Cherry” has nearly 230,000 plays. “Cherry” was released as a single less than a year before being included as the second track on 2020’s Summer’s End. 

While “Cherry” is their top song, those who are listening to Summer’s End should not neglect “South Side / Sea”, which is the opening track. “South Side / Sea” is one of the more unique songs on the album, featuring a guitar solo and sounds that actually transport you to the seaside. They made a good selection when they decided to open the album with this song. It sounds like a few different songs in one, with the drums and vocals featured more prominently at the beginning before transitioning to a quick seagull solo and ending with a calmer, instrumental outro.

With the different sounds in “South Side / Sea” — both in musical style and with the addition of the seagulls — I did expect a few more unconventional sounds on Summer’s End. “Uh Oh!” has some pretty fun sounds in the background, but none that really stuck out as much as hearing bird cries in the middle of a song. If RALLY includes more off the wall sounds on future projects, it could help establish their overall style as a group.

Summer’s End can be a great soundtrack to the warmer months of the year. With four songs and less than fifteen minutes of music, Summer’s End goes by as quickly as the few months of summer. Of course, you can listen to the project even when summer ends — then the title of the album would work pretty well.

Make sure to follow RALLY on Instagram. You can listen to “Cherry” below!