Set on Edge exudes the same impressions I often get from Phil Keaggy. That is, particular tracks assure the listener the band is talented, but one can't help but wishing Set on Edge would go to that well more often. Like Keaggy, Set on Edge, or at least this album, A Story to Cling To, offers a little too much straight-ahead modern folk blues for artists capable of so much more. The band whets our appetite with the brilliant opening track, "Passing Into Life," which easily dominates the album in terms of superiority of arrangement. But the simpler tracks provide that emotional buffer that makes the great songs work best in live settings.
Even with some songs that don't get much more complicated than Counting Crows, Set on Edge would definitely be a band worth seeing in person at a local coffee shop or blues bar (especially in the Athens, Ga., area). The band's thick sound utilizes the instrumental diversity of a Caedmon's Call and a vocalist, Shannon Lewis, who controls his intensity for the perfect moments. (I suspect the former is often sacrificed precisely to emphasize the latter.) Progressive punctuated bass is also a highlight of several tracks, making all the difference between these and similar contemporary Christian songs.
Fans should note that A Story to Cling To is a pre-release, and that some of these tracks are likely to appear on Set on Edge's third full-length CD tentatively dubbed Falling on Deaf Ears.
3.5 tocks
Other coverage for this album
Opus 2002Reviewed by Jason MoreheadAllow me a pretentious rock critic oversimplification, if only for the purposes of this review. While walking around the campgrounds at this year's Cornerstone festival, it seemed as if there were, in fact, two festivals going on. On one side of the river of dirt that passes for the campgrounds' main road, a motley assortment of pop-punk, hardcore, and rapcore bands duked it out for the attention…The Phantom Tollbooth 2002Reviewed by Dr. Bruce L. ThiessenIf A Story to Cling To is any measure of their potential, Set On Edge are growing up to become gentle giants. Their mild, mollifying music and pleadingly prayerful lyrics go down nice and smooth without being too eager to please. The gentle giant's gentle giant, Glen Campbell, said it best when he sang, "Gentle On My Mind." I must warn those of my psychologist colleagues who specialize in…The Phantom Tollbooth 2002Reviewed by Brian A. SmithThe brainchild of Shannon Lewis, Set on Edge returns with its cast of thousands on the EP A Story to Cling To. At times folky and acoustic, at others laid back and almost jazzy, Set on Edge gives eight songs this time out with themes of maturity, fear, love, and loss. "Passing Into Life" recalls other indie artists such as Mary's Den or First Water, and deals with individual growth, stating that…Similar sounding releases
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