REVIEW: Set It Off - Set It Off

After years of navigating the music industry on their own terms, SET IT OFF has fully embraced independence, emerging with a self-titled album that feels like a declaration of creative freedom. No label, no restrictions, just three musicians from Los Angeles via Florida taking complete control of their sound and vision. With a career built on relentless touring, multi-million streams, and a fearless approach to genre-blending, the band now presents a record that is heavier, bolder, and more authentic than ever. This album is not just a collection of songs; it is SET IT OFF’s unfiltered identity, a fearless statement of who they are and who they intend to be.

The first track, Pathological sets the tone for the entire record. It opens with an aggressive energy, driven by tight percussion and jagged riffs, announcing that this is not the SET IT OFF of previous polished pop-rock experimentation. JON LUNDIN’s production brings a gritty clarity to the track, ensuring that each instrument lands with impact while maintaining the melodic sensibility that fans have come to expect. The song immediately immerses listeners in the band’s newly aggressive sound, a sound that feels carefully honed yet raw and unfiltered.

Following this, Punching Bag exemplifies the band’s unique ability to combine ferocity with accessibility. The song’s riff-heavy structure delivers visceral power, yet CODY CARSON’s vocals glide between vulnerability and defiance with ease. It’s a track that could dominate radio charts while simultaneously igniting arenas, a testament to the band’s years of honing their live performances. Similarly, Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing [REBORN] revisits a fan-favorite track but infuses it with renewed aggression and energy, bridging the band’s past with their present and showing that SET IT OFF is both reflective and forward-looking.

However, the album’s emotional and thematic centrepiece is Rotten. The track embodies the ferocity of SET IT OFF’s new era, addressing the corrosive nature of inauthenticity and exploitation. CARSON explains that the song is about people manipulating others for personal gain, a theme delivered with brutal honesty. Musically, Rotten combines arena-ready choruses, chunky riffs, and breakdowns that hit with precision, making it one of the heaviest and most emotionally resonant moments of the album. It is simultaneously cathartic and confrontational, giving listeners both a visceral thrill and something to think about long after the track ends.

Switch and Fake Ass Friends further explore themes of personal struggle and social tension. Switch impresses with its dynamic structure, seamlessly transitioning between soaring choruses and intricate guitar work, while Fake Ass Friends pairs biting lyrical commentary with a deceptively catchy melody. These tracks illustrate the band’s ability to confront darker themes without sacrificing their knack for hooks and memorable melodies, a skill that has always been a hallmark of SET IT OFF’s sound. What’s In It For Me? and Evil People continue the album’s momentum, showcasing the band at their heaviest while allowing moments of melodic reprieve. The rhythm section, driven by ZACH DEWALL on guitar and MAXX DANZIGER on drums, anchors the album’s energy with precision, giving CARSON the freedom to navigate between raw intensity and soaring emotion. Vicious Cycle and Creating Monsters maintain this balance, exploring betrayal, resilience, and the cyclical nature of conflict, both internal and external. The thematic depth across these tracks gives the album cohesion, allowing it to function not just as a collection of songs, but as a narrative journey.

The closing tracks, Parasite and Worst Case Scenarios reflect the band’s maturity and unflinching honesty. By the end of the album, it’s clear that SET IT OFF has not only discovered their authentic voice but is unafraid to confront uncomfortable truths. Musically, these tracks combine melody, aggression, and rhythmic complexity, leaving listeners with a lasting impression of both intensity and craft. The album’s self-titled nature is a deliberate statement: this is the definitive expression of SET IT OFF at this stage of their career.

What sets this album apart is its ability to encompass the full spectrum of SET IT OFF’s musical identity. CODY CARSON describes the album as an amalgamation of everything they’ve attempted over the years: pop, rap, punk, and rock coexisting in a way that feels natural rather than forced. Every previous release acted as a stepping stone, but this album consolidates their influences and experiences into a sound that is uniquely their own. It is not only heavier and more aggressive than anything they have done before, but also more personal, more vulnerable, and more fearless.

Set It Off is more than just an album; it’s a declaration of independence and artistic maturity. The band has taken full control of their creative direction, producing a record that embodies both their musical evolution and their personal growth. Each track carries an emotional weight, a combination of catharsis, anger, reflection, and triumph. By blending arena-ready choruses with intimate lyrical moments and complex instrumentation, the album successfully straddles the line between mainstream accessibility and underground authenticity.

In short, SET IT OFF has created an album that fully lives up to its self-titled status. It is a culmination of years of experimentation, risk-taking, and relentless work ethic, now distilled into a body of music that feels fearless, uncompromising, and unmistakably them. Fans new and old alike will find something to connect with here, whether drawn to the heaviness, the melody, or the lyrical candour. Set It Off is not just a statement of where the band is, it is a promise of where they are headed.

Score: 10/10

Set It Off was released independently on 7th November 2025.

Words: Mia Gailey

Photos: Set It Off