{"id":25134,"date":"2014-01-23T13:33:45","date_gmt":"2014-01-23T13:33:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-set-to-reflect-artificial-sun\/"},"modified":"2018-03-17T15:33:18","modified_gmt":"2018-03-17T15:33:18","slug":"album-review-set-to-reflect-artificial-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-set-to-reflect-artificial-sun\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Set to Reflect – Artificial Sun"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"image\"Ohio\u2019s metalcore outfit Set to Reflect<\/strong> have set out to impress with their first album, <\/span>\u2018Artificial Sun\u2019<\/em>. There are pop culture references abound and a quick-fire, keep them pinned to the wall attitude. with a near constant barrage of chugging rhythms and intense vocals ranging from far away shouting, and sweet harmonies to guttural growls driving the whole thing forward without any real pacing; there’s a detrimental cost to the actual perceived quality of the songs and experience of them. When things finally settle down in the last two tracks, its almost over and the pace seems a little ruined.<\/span><\/p>\n

The opener \u2018Pacing in the Panic Room\u2019 <\/em>(ok, I\u2019ll admit, I love that title) starts promisingly enough, slow burn into cymbal and guttural throaty heaviness works well. It feels like it loses a little pace in the slower moments. The thudding of the guitars in sync is great though, and pulls it back. It should be a strong track, but I think it loses its way a little in the middle sections. There\u2019s also stand out track \u2018I Am The One Who Knocks\u2019<\/em>, re-recorded from last year\u2019s \u2018A New Path to Walk\u2019<\/em>. Here it is presented without electronic drums and angular programmed noise in the intro, and while I felt that was fantastic for the song originally, it probably was a wise decision now it\u2019s not the opening track. The straight drop into the first vocal does the trick nicely, it\u2019s like a suckerpunch to the solar plexus and the re-recorded guitars squeal with renewed vigour, with a bit of a Norma Jean nod to style. Title track \u2018Artificial Sun\u2019<\/em> actually offers one of the most interesting moments, with its comparatively laid back clean guitars, borderline emotional meltdown singing and the almost Joanna Newsom-esque female vocal interjections; “Am I lost or just forgotten?”<\/em> she asks. It’s haunting and i actually want more of that.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a couple of places where the lack of experience with recording shows. For example, in the straining of some of the vocals in \u2018Preying for Forgiveness\u2019<\/em>, I\u2019m finding it painful to listen to; I can imagine there being some ruined vocal chords in the name of \u2018art\u2019. I definitely feel like their harmonies (which remind me a little of later Dance Gavin Dance) are better than the screamed vocals, especially in \u2018Catharsis\u2019<\/em>. In some parts of \u2018Long Lost: Divide\u2019<\/em> it feels like the guitars, vocals and drums are all running at slightly different speeds, just missing each other, and not intentionally. It\u2019s disconcerting.<\/p>\n

For the most part though, this is basically mosh music with some snappy angular guitar and some intense vocals: it\u2019s well produced, but it\u2019s nothing special. You can rock out and once you\u2019re done, forget a lot of it. There are plenty of single moments of great guitar\/double kick drum and growls that would wake demons and if you like those things you will probably enjoy this a lot. But even after a few listens I honestly can\u2019t tell half the songs apart, or where those exciting bits were. I\u2019d like to see more of the latter tracks, because I think I genuinely found when they took a step back from a constant barrage of screaming, it was a breath of fresh air. And that\u2019s what this album really needs, a bit of space to breathe.<\/p>\n

3\/5<\/p>\n

‘Artificial Sun’<\/em> by Set to Reflect<\/strong> is out now on Standby Records<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Set To Reflect<\/b> links: Facebook<\/a>|Twitter<\/a>|YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n

Words by Heather Robertson (@thecuriosity<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ohio\u2019s metalcore outfit Set to Reflect have set out to impress with their first album, \u2018Artificial Sun\u2019. There are pop culture references abound and a quick-fire, keep them pinned to the wall attitude. with a near constant barrage of chugging rhythms and intense vocals ranging from far away shouting, and sweet harmonies to guttural growls […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,8181],"tags":[5879,11042,11041,194],"class_list":["post-25134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews","category-post","tag-album-reviews","tag-artifical-sun","tag-set-to-reflect","tag-standby-records"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAlbum Review: Set to Reflect - Artificial Sun - Already Heard Staging<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ohio\u2019s metalcore outfit Set to Reflect have set out to impress with their first album, \u2018Artificial Sun\u2019. There are pop culture references abound and a\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Album Review: Set to Reflect - Artificial Sun - Already Heard Staging\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ohio\u2019s metalcore outfit Set to Reflect have set out to impress with their first album, \u2018Artificial Sun\u2019. There are pop culture references abound and a\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-set-to-reflect-artificial-sun\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Already Heard Staging\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AlreadyHeard\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-01-23T13:33:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-03-17T15:33:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/tumblr_inline_mztae1cM8f1qheirv.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"150\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"150\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@alreadyhearduk\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@alreadyhearduk\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Album Review: Set to Reflect - Artificial Sun - Already Heard Staging","description":"Ohio\u2019s metalcore outfit Set to Reflect have set out to impress with their first album, \u2018Artificial Sun\u2019. There are pop culture references abound and a","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Album Review: Set to Reflect - Artificial Sun - Already Heard Staging","og_description":"Ohio\u2019s metalcore outfit Set to Reflect have set out to impress with their first album, \u2018Artificial Sun\u2019. There are pop culture references abound and a","og_url":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-set-to-reflect-artificial-sun\/","og_site_name":"Already Heard Staging","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AlreadyHeard\/","article_published_time":"2014-01-23T13:33:45+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-03-17T15:33:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":150,"height":150,"url":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/tumblr_inline_mztae1cM8f1qheirv.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@alreadyhearduk","twitter_site":"@alreadyhearduk","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-set-to-reflect-artificial-sun\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-set-to-reflect-artificial-sun\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#\/schema\/person\/508ed29771f8c5b56fdcf4695f22a2a3"},"headline":"Album Review: Set to Reflect – Artificial Sun","datePublished":"2014-01-23T13:33:45+00:00","dateModified":"2018-03-17T15:33:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-set-to-reflect-artificial-sun\/"},"wordCount":610,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-set-to-reflect-artificial-sun\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/tumblr_inline_mztae1cM8f1qheirv.jpg","keywords":["Album Reviews","Artifical Sun","Set to Reflect","Standby Records"],"articleSection":["Album Reviews","Post"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-set-to-reflect-artificial-sun\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-set-to-reflect-artificial-sun\/","url":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-set-to-reflect-artificial-sun\/","name":"Album Review: Set to Reflect - Artificial Sun - Already Heard Staging","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-set-to-reflect-artificial-sun\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-set-to-reflect-artificial-sun\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/tumblr_inline_mztae1cM8f1qheirv.jpg","datePublished":"2014-01-23T13:33:45+00:00","dateModified":"2018-03-17T15:33:18+00:00","description":"Ohio\u2019s metalcore outfit Set to Reflect have set out to impress with their first album, \u2018Artificial Sun\u2019. There are pop culture references abound and a","inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-set-to-reflect-artificial-sun\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-set-to-reflect-artificial-sun\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/tumblr_inline_mztae1cM8f1qheirv.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/tumblr_inline_mztae1cM8f1qheirv.jpg","width":150,"height":150},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#website","url":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/","name":"Already Heard Staging","description":"Covering the best in alternative music as best as we can","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#organization","name":"Already Heard","url":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/AH-relaunch-logo-white-bg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/AH-relaunch-logo-white-bg.jpg","width":500,"height":500,"caption":"Already Heard"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AlreadyHeard\/","https:\/\/x.com\/alreadyhearduk","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/alreadyheard\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/already-heard\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/AlreadyHeardMusic","https:\/\/tiktok.com\/@alreadyhearduk","https:\/\/www.threads.net\/@alreadyheard"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#\/schema\/person\/508ed29771f8c5b56fdcf4695f22a2a3","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bcf4d491c971b5225a3e3c450225c0ae6ba0217be8f6ecb776a9506d4aa5595f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bcf4d491c971b5225a3e3c450225c0ae6ba0217be8f6ecb776a9506d4aa5595f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bcf4d491c971b5225a3e3c450225c0ae6ba0217be8f6ecb776a9506d4aa5595f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"url":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25134"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38489,"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25134\/revisions\/38489"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}