Review Summary: Is it possible to put a twist on stereotypical genre? Set it Off pulls it off magically....almost.
0 of 2 thought this review was well writtenThinking of a genre to put Set it Off's album Cinematics under, I decided on "orchestral emo rock".
And that is exactly correct. Set it Off has taken the overused genre of emo-rock and added a twist, that sure as hell had me interested. They add orchestral instruments to it and make it a ton cooler. And more unique for that matter.
The instrumentals are excellent, and Cody's voice is excellent and perfectly suited for the genre. The only problem i had with this album was the lyrics. Oh boy.
If the lyrics were great, i would have not hesitated giving this album a 5. Some of the lyrics are excellent (see Dreamcatcher for example) but some are just plain painful. The song "I'd Rather Drown" is by far the heaviest song on the album, but also the most poorly written. Here is an example: "burn the bitch down! i never want to cross that bridge again, i'd rather drown"!
The song "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" is the single of the album, and is very catchy, and you can tell that he is trying to write a song about his insomnia, but when the finished project is heard, it is also wince inducing. Lyrically wise again.
Now the rest of the songs are great, some being excellent, some key songs being Dream Catcher (a very emotionally charged ballad, with just the right amount of violin) and Nightmare (good lyrics, good melody).
The only songs I would have to complain about would be the ones mentioned above (which are good songs, just poorly written) and i will say "I'd Rather Drown" is a fun song (screaming BURN THE BITCH DOWN is very fun) and "Sleep When I'm Dead" is a very well constructed, technical song. The song "Swan Song" (another single) is also not very good. It isn't awful, but it isn't a good enough song to be the single. It is kind of boring, and while listening to it, I found myself tempted to check Facebook. Why? Because nothing special was going on.
I will be keeping my eye on Set It Off in the near future, and hope that like so many bands, their lyrics, as well as their music will evolve.
Also check Set it Off out on the 2013 Vans Warped Tour! I will be very curious to see how they will go about playing all the orchestral instruments live.
