Set It Off Has Best Album of the Year with Duality

WHS Lions Pride Original Story:

by Darryl Warren

These horrible kids from Tampa, Florida are back to haunt you from beyond the cinematics. Orchestral rock band Set It Off are back with their second full-length album DualityDuality.

These five dream catchers have come a long way since their inception in 2008. Originally the band adopted a synth-pop sound, but in 2011, their signature EP, Horrible Kids took the pop-punk scene by storm. Their usage of classical instruments and dark lyrical content has made them stand out amongst other bands.

In the early summer of 2012, the band released their debut album Cinematics (Expanded Edition) which feature the lead single “Nightmare.” In this song, lead singer, Cody Carson explores his past anxieties he had during his teenage years. Shortly after the release of their album, the band’s touring schedule grew into a massive wingspan. It would eventually increase their infectious fan base and earn them on a spot on the 2013 Vans Warped tour.

On January 2nd, a video update released by Equal Vision Records stated that the band would be entering the studio with producer John Feldman. At this point, many questions were beginning to arise about the new record; Will it be heavier than their last? Will they sell out? The inner workings of the new record would soon catch everyone by surprise like a lightning strike.

“The juxtaposition of two polar opposites has always been interesting to me. Everyone in the world has two sides to them, the side you let me see and the side you choose to hide behind,” says Carson when explaining the main concept behind the album. (youtube.com)

On October 14th 2014, their second album, Duality hit the shelves like a hurricane. The opening track “The Haunting” creeps in like a monstrous demon with a violin, clarinet and piano ballad and escapes into a pop-punk chord progression. Let me tell you, I was blown away. The transition between the two styles was absolutely flawless.

One of the main songs that stuck out to me was the lead single “Why Worry.” The song’s dark verses and gospel influenced chorus will definitely get any new listener hooked. Another song that almost brought me to tears was “Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing.” Not only does this song feature a guest vocalist, the band’s jazz side is unleashed like a stampede of piercing horns (pun intended).

Throughout the whole album, I notice a huge departure from their original pop-punk sound. Since then, they’ve adopted an old school R&B (similar to N’Sync) direction. For a final verdict, I’m just going to flat out say, this album is probably the best album as of October 2014. I must say, some old fans may not be into this album at first, but anyone who has never heard of them before I high recommend this album.