Set Adrift is a newer and upcoming five piece hardcore band from Dallas. On August 30, they released their first EP, A Monument to Absence. It consists of four tracks total.
The title track named Monument has endless guitar riffs, gritty vocals, but also a soft melodic piano part that has me intrigued from the start. I’m not generally a hardcore fan, most of my music taste runs with pop punk and midwest emo but I’m always open to other sounds. I love when a band doesn’t follow what would be considered “normal” for their genre. Typically, people think hardcore is all screams, it cannot be soft. The way that this track transitions into the piano is beautiful. It’s unexpected but it’s done perfectly so that it isn’t jarring or too surprising. The way they have the drums integrated in and then drum back into the heavier beats. I had to replay that bit to really hear it and I love it. I am gonna be honest though, I don’t love the ending when bands draw out the riff. It’s like nails on a chalkboard for me, lol.
I don’t always understand lyrics to songs so I know I’ve misquoted in the past. Blame my hearing loss haha. I really do like the words in the track, Wake. I did have to look them up to make sure I didn't say anything wrong. I really think the line, “your mind like a prison to chaos” makes me think the song is about depression and anxiety. But it also discusses someone leaving us behind which tells me that this song is about the loss we sometimes feel with others who struggle with it or losing yourself to the struggles.
“I’ve grown accustomed to this misery
Trying to silence the voices in your head”
If you watch the music video, it ends with “Dedicated to those gone too soon. We miss you,” which tells me that this song is a dedication to anyone who’s lost someone to battles and how difficult it is to deal with that pain. Titling the song, Wake speaks so much on this and the topic of mental health. Most days when you’re fighting the battle, all you want to do is give up and end it, or go to sleep and never wake up again. There’s really no words for me anyways on just how that hits me because I know I struggle and I know others who struggle, and I know people who have lost others to the difficult battle. It’s not an easy thing to write or talk about but it needs to be spoken up on more. Dedicating a song entirely to them and what they face, whether its public knowledge or not, I respect you for this. It takes a lot to want to really talk about vulnerable topics when the music is on the louder side and that’s kind of poetic. The loudness represents what it’s like to struggle without an escape and then the lyrics are just so raw and true. Well done.
I am definitely going to be keeping my eye on this band and what comes next, you should too. This EP is out on streaming platforms everywhere!
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