Set It Off are a band I first encountered at a gig earlier this year, recommended by a friend. Their heady mix of rap, rock, pop punk and overall catchy riffage got the crowd going, and me with them. A great live band who I went home and added to all the playlists.
This is the first new release I’ll have heard and it’s a milestone for the band. While Megadeth line up a self-titled album to kick off their retirement phase, Set It Off use theirs to trigger a new era in their existence as they go 100% independent. This is a brave step for any artist, but with a big enough fanbase it will, I sincerely hope, pay off. It’s worked for Bowling For Soup, and Taylor Swift has done OK since she managed to get her own music back.
The first thing you notice is how good the production is. Whether the tracks are banging, quiet, frenetic or laid back the sound is spot on. Multi-layers are handled with ease and everything seems to sit exactly where it should in the mix. Five songs have already been released as singles, so if you’ve listened to these then you’ve an idea of what I mean. “Rotten” is probably my pick, the vocals often tingling something at the back of my head that reminds me of Ice Nine Kills, though the more abrasive and rap-led “Pathological” isn’t half bad either. “Wolf In Sheeps Clothing [Reborn]” is a reworking of one of their biggest tracks and I like the way they’ve included it as a “where we came from / are now” waymarker.
Of the unreleased songs, there are even more pleasant surprises. “SWITCH” just flows into your ears, and “What’s In It For Me” builds its emotion wonderfully from the off. A slow burner that really pays off. “Evil People” is just heavy as fuck when it kicks in and you know it’s going to be even heavier live.
“Vicious Cycle” rattles by, but “Creating Monsters” is an absolute bouncy classic. If there’s a “kooky” number on here then this is it. It sounds like they had great fun making it, and I think you could Charleston to it. In fact I demand a mass Charleston to this at the next Glasgow gig. Make this happen. “Parasite” is an angry, bouncy classic “Worst Case Scneario” goes for that trick of closing the album with a more emotionally-charged number that you can sing along to.
Set It Off’s songs are catchy and the lyrics oft-relatable, which likely explains their success with the somewhat younger generation that made up the majority of the crowd at the gig I went to. They’re also quite short so they never have a chance to get tired before the next one leaps out of the headphones and strangles the bits of your brain that decide whether you like what you’re listening to.
A great mixture of multiple musical styles that is a very promising start as the band take those first tentative steps on their own.
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Set It Off is released on November 7th
Header image by Skull Lens Photography
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