The Summer Set, a pop-rock band from Phoenix, Az., has been recording for almost a decade and with every release continues to prove why it has lasted so long.

Formed in 2007, The Summer Set is made up of singer Brian Dales, guitarists John Gomez and Josh Montgomery, bassist Stephen Gomez and drummer Jess Bowen.

The Summer Set released three EPs (extended plays) before releasing its first full-length album, “Love Like This,” in 2009. “Everything’s Fine” and the “What Money Can’t Buy” EP followed in 2011.

It’s third album, “Legendary,” was released in 2013 and catapulted the band into the spotlight.

The lead single “Boomerang” hit the radio and helped the band win the 2013 Macy’s iHeartRadio Rising Star competition. This gave the band a spot at the iHeartRadio Music Festival and in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Following the 2014 Vans Warped Tour, The Summer Set went to work on its fourth album. However, Dales began to feel lost, thinking nothing he wrote was good enough.

“I distanced myself from everyone,” Dales wrote on his blog in February. “I got so discouraged I called my mom, told her I didn’t want to make music anymore, and went back to Arizona to hide for a few weeks. I didn’t want to make a sound or write a single word.”

That’s when Dales wrote “Figure Me Out,” which would become the first single from the band’s fourth album “Stories for Monday.” Once Dales wrote “Figure Me Out,” everything fell into place for the album, but not the band.

“…On a melancholy day back in September we sat down as a band at our favorite bar and decided we had ‘run our course’ and that it was time to ‘break up’ [the band],” Dales wrote.

The Summer Set broke up in 2015 and planned for “Stories for Monday” to be a farewell album.

Three days before this was to be announced to the fans, guitarist Montgomery called each member and convinced them The Summer Set was far from over and that “Stories for Monday” deserved a fair shot.  

“Stories for Monday” was released in April. With honest lyrics, upbeat music and a fine coating of nostalgia, it is The Summer Set’s best release to date.   

Stand-out tracks include “All Downhill from Here,” which explores the confusion of venturing into adulthood and “Wonder Years,” which is the opposite, exploring friendship and the adventure in adulthood.

“Stories for Monday” is original in every respect and offers something for everyone.

As a band, The Summer Set has shown an immense amount of growth over the past 10 years and is sure to only continue to do so with all future endeavors.