Instrumental Rock, as a branch of post-Metal, can be such a tricky genre to pull off well. Many times it is about a balance that bands can miss. Too often bands miss that poignancy and enchanting quality that such material often needs and instead prove mechanical and disengaging in nature. Over three prior albums, Floridian act Set And Setting have showcased both a technical prowess in their sound and that difficult ingredient, heart, whilst continuously adapting their sound; a case which is proven once again on their latest effort, Tabula Rasa (Pelagic).

With this, the band’s fourth album under their belts, Set And Setting have opened up their sound once again, arguably to a greater degree than before by incorporating heavier elements whilst still maintaining a melodic and sprawling core. In fact, the sheer dynamic range that is now present makes Tabula Rasa a captivating trip where with each passing song proceedings can suddenly shift dramatically. Album opener ‘Circling Doldrums’ is a melancholic, sumptuous and brooding passage which then leads into the contrastingly furious, ‘Revisions Through…’ which holds both a pummelling sensibility and a thoughtful, expansive air and feels reminiscent in part of Gojira or Blood Mountain-era Mastodon. This then flows into ‘…Perenial Longing’ which maintains the previous songs’ hook but channels it through a more hypnotic, Russian Circles like post-Rock lens, showcasing throughout these connected pieces such a varying nature which binds together so seamlessly.

‘Ecdysis’ similarly offers equal parts heaviness and a dreamlike air, with towering, slow guitar grooves interspersed with pacier passages alongside warming post-Rock; on paper contrasting styles which here sit so well with one another. The one time that the bringing together of contrasts feels jarring is when Tabula Rasa pits its most extreme opposites next to one another, where the soothing ambiance of ‘Elucidation’ suddenly veers into ‘Desolate Waves Confine…’ an eruption of a Punk-like aggressive pace where perhaps matters would have benefitted from a gradual build.

Over the course of their catalogue so far, Set And Setting have proven to be an intelligent and immersive entity who are always willing to shift up their formula and to experiment, and Tabula Rasa is certainly their most diverse to date, and yet melds it all, for the most part, so fluidly that they should be held as a benchmark for post-Metal/Instrumental Rock of this ilk.

7.0/10

CHRIS TIPPELL