Decades in the making, a celebrated Wilmington band to debut its first album

If you're making a list of the best Wilmington bands of all time, Summer Set needs to be on there, somewhere near the top.

Since forming in 2001, frontman/songwriter Brian Weeks has cranked out an array of memorable tunes, from indelible indie-pop gems ("Center of Attention") to shimmering ballads ("Coast to Coast"), all of which bear Weeks' distinctive guitar playing, laid-back singing and sure-handed production. And while Summer Set has gotten some statewide acclaim over the years, the band has mostly been a local phenomenon, with a sound that is singularly Wilmington.

Now, on Nov. 3, Summer Set will make its full-length label debut with a self-titled album available on both vinyl and as a digital LP from Wilmington's Fort Lowell Records, a local label with a national profile.

The first single from that album, a summery, propulsive slice of indie pop titled "Favorite Places," premieres today exclusively on StarNewsOnline. Release date for the album's second single, "Center of Attention," is TBD.

Summer Set was most active from the early to mid-2000s, when they self-released several albums complete with homemade, silk-screened cover art. The band also released songs in 2005 and 2006 as part of a 22-act compilation and a split four-way album with three other bands on Durham micro-indie Pox World Empire.

Most recently, in 2020, Summer Set released a song, "Comfortable Town," on Fort Lowell's "GROW: A Compilation in Solidarity with Black Lives Matter," which featured a dozen Wilmington (or Wilmington-connected) bands.

The new album, "Summer Set," is comprised of songs from the band's mid-2000s heyday as well as more recent, mostly unheard material.

Summer Set has included a number of members over the years, including multi-instrumentalist Seth Moody and drummer Jeff Reardon, both of whom play on "Favorite Places." But the two constants have been Weeks and bassist/vocalist Robert Rogan. Weeks and Rogan also play in the electronic R&B band De La Noche with singer Ivan Howard of Wilmington-born indie rock act The Rosebuds.

On Sept. 23 at Bourgie Nights in downtown Wilmington, Summer Set will play a live show for the first time in several years, opening for Port City Indie-folk act The Paper Stars.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington band Summer Set to release album from Fort Lowell Records