Album Review: Set It Off - Duality
Someone broke the heart of Set It Off, and they want revenge…by way of pop.
Duality is the upcoming sophomore album from Florida based alternative rock band Set It Off. The new record plays with the notion of duality, the contrast between two concepts. The lyrics from the title track, “I am good, I am evil. I am solace, I am chaos,” have become the band’s new mantra. The songs flow through a series of regrets and angry name-calling- Immediate standouts from the album are ‘The Haunting’, ‘NME’, and ‘Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing.’
From the perspective of a long time fan, Duality may be a let down. Long gone are the screams, heavy breakdowns, and maniacal laughter, and the band have traded their original style for a more typical radio sound. It’s better to come at Duality with a new set of ears then as an old supporter. The album is an okay pop-punk record but the band can no longer be classified under a harder genre.
Duality starts out with the first two songs, ‘The Haunting’ and ‘NME’, packing a punch with angry lyrics and hard-hitting riffs. The album begins to drop off after the first few tunes though- The lyrics are still clever, as is the writing style of front man Cody Carson, but the music becomes overly upbeat and monotonous. ‘Forever Stuck in Our Youth’ is reminiscent of the newer style of Fall Out Boy and something that wouldn’t seem out of place on a mainstream station. Set It Off has strayed from such controversial topics as bullying and mental illness and fallen into the steady commonality of bad break-ups and being young.
‘Bleak December’ is exactly as the name states, bleak. ‘Tomorrow’ is unoriginal and repetitive, and ‘Why Worry’ is one of those bothersome songs that get stuck in your head. The band seems to be in the midst of a transition that gets confused with their past work. It becomes an interesting combination of poppy hooks and angry curses that come out of nowhere- ‘Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing’ goes so far as to jump from a catchy chorus to, “you’ve always been a huge piece of shit, if I could kill you I would.” Well that escalated quickly.
It’s a shame to see the originality ebbing away from a fantastic band with so much talent. Set It Off is sure to be gaining a lot of new fans…but losing a lot of old ones.
Words by Kaitlyn Ulrich
Original Story at: http://noisecannon.com/2014/10/13/set-it-off-duality/
