Rocks Into Rivers is the follow up to Seabird's 2008 critically acclaimed label debut, ‘Til We See The Shore which featured several pop gems that were played all over the nighttime drama television landscape from Grey’s Anatomy to the now canceled Pushing Daises and scoring a coveted spot on one of Paste magazine’s cd samplers, Seabird returned to the studio with producers Paul Moak (Mat Kearney and Sixpence None the Richer) and Matt Hales (Aqualung) to try and continue their rise to the top of radio friendly pop. Changing formula was not the idea with lead singer Aaron Morgan. All twelve songs are a definite extension of the writings carried after their debut and over a whole year touring the country from coast to coast.

As Morgan says on the bands MySpace page, “"We felt like we were capturing a live performance, which is where we have the most confidence. That's where we felt we were really landing punches."

The band split its time between Ocean Studios in Los Angeles and The Smoakstack in Nashville, honing what brothers Aaron and Ryan Morgan are calling their most exciting project to date. "For this album I think we wanted to mature both musically and lyrically," says Aaron. "We have families now and are experiencing different aspects of life, and we think that our audience has matured with us as well. We want to continue making songs that inspire people to change and grow. There is a musical progression in these songs, they may be a little less poppy but at the same they definitely showcase our rock sensibility."

The new project's first single, "Don't You Know You're Beautiful" is one of my favorite new songs of the year. The song really sets the tone for this excellent album with a great piano-based rock beat, similar to The Fray. The song is about a girl trying to stand up as her family falls down around her, believing lies about herself as though her parent's divorce is her fault.

"Believe Me" continues the great piano-based rock, with Aaron singing about himself and his promise to be the husband and father he knows he should be. What's really impressive to me is that I can hear Aaron's vulnerability throughout the album, especially in "The Good King," a lullaby to his daughter about seeing life through her eyes and "Baby I'm In Love" which is about seeing Aaron's pregnant wife become an incredible mother before their daughter was born.

Another standout is "Sing To Save My Life," a very moving and passionate song with Aaron's personal prayer to `bring forth the ocean, sing for devotion and sing to save my life'. The driving guitar part at the end of the song really highlights the emotional side of this great band.

The songs all have a Brit-pop style similar to The Fray, Coldplay and Needtobreathe. If you liked "Rescue", then you need to hear Rocks Into Rivers by Seabird.

To sum up this now long story, Seabird is a band that exudes immense amounts of energy and that is what this album sounds like. They went for live, and live is how it feels. Are the songs better than ‘Til We See the Shore? No. Is this album better than 99.9 percent of all music heard on the radio on a daily basis? Yes.

"You always want your friends to be there for you, and in the same way, we want our music to be there with whatever you need, be it inspiration, laughter or even tears," remarks Morgan. "It's our goal to make our music as reliable as a good friend." Rocks Into Rivers is that friend. Not over the top amazing, but reliable.