With its upcoming, third album Reflectionless, St. Petersburg, Florida quintet SET AND SETTING establishes a new gold standard for the genre of instrumental rock. Hear Reflectionless’ opening track, “Saudade,” below.
Driven by two drummers laying down a thunderous base, Set and Setting brings an aggressive attack to the lulls and swells that have come to define the post-rock sound. Set and Setting can do “pretty” – its soaring guitars create absolutely regal vistas of sound – but this band also rocks, hard. On Reflectionless, faint strains of Kylesa, and even Sonic Youth, can be heard in addition to more central influences like Explosions in the Sky.
Where many peers merely swing back and forth from loud to soft, happy to sad, Set and Setting rolls forward with beastly momentum and keeps the story progressing. Without a single lyric, Reflectionless captivates from start to finish.
Guitarist Shane Handal gives this insight: “Every album we have done has had a concept to it. With Reflectionless I wanted to be a little more vague. This album is based on the idea that external reality is just a projection of your inner self. The particular ‘character’ here has no idea who they are, therefore having no reflection.”
Photo by Ryan Zarra
Reflectionless was recorded by Ryan Haft (Torche, Wrong) at Black Bear Studios in Gainesville, Florida, and mastered by Ed Brooks (R.E.M., Death Cab for Cutie) at Resonant Mastering.
The cover, created by Samantha Muljat (Earth, Pelican), was inspired by the artwork of Storm Thorgerson of Hipgnosis, as seen on Pink Floyd’s album covers.
Set and Setting will self-release Reflectionless on January 27th, 2017, on vinyl, CD and digital formats. The band has teamed up with AWAL (Kobalt) to handle the digital release, and with two labels for exclusive color vinyl options in addition to its regular vinyl pressing: Science of Silence Records (US) and Dunk!Records (EU).
Press:
“Lush post-rock with an acerbic metal edge… Melancholic beauty suspended in the clouds with a birds-eye view of epic terrain… Passages of jarring skittish prog turmoil that pull things down to a gritty earthbound level… Soul-searing leads and shimmering, bending guitars that convey feelings of wonder and introspection.”
–Stereogum
“Set and Setting fire up an imagined narrative in each gorgeous, epic instrumental… The sound they create is more like a rugged, red-rock canyon.”
–Paste
“Masters of both mass and craft…”
–Orlando Weekly
