Setting (band)

Beginnings and Shone a Rainbow Light On (2021-2023)

The band was formed in Durham in 2021 by three musicians playing together in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[1] Bandmembers Nathan Bowles, Jaime Fennelly, and Joe Westerlund all play multiple instruments, but Westerlund and Bowles had performed as a percussion duo prior to the formation of the trio.^[1]

Shone a Rainbow Light On is the debut studio album by Setting. It was released on September 29, 2023, by Paradise of Bachelors.^[2]

Shone a Rainbow Light On was met with positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 84, based on 6 reviews, which the website categorized as "universal acclaim".^[3]

Daniel Hignell of The Quietus wrote of the album: "The sort of record for which the phrase 'organic drones' was built, Setting have produced a beguiling, earthen record that slots neatly into the pantheon of meandering new-age ambiance. A sort of less ostentatious, less cheesy take on Popol Vuh. The album is reminiscent of some of the more obscure instrumental records on the Constellation label, conjuring a world that is neither as minimal as drone nor as lively as kraut-rock, a passive, repetitive, slow-burning folk aesthetic.^[5]

Recent activity (2024-present)

The band's studio album was followed by two album releases of live performances, one from a show at Black Mountain College Museum and one from a performance at the Asheville, North Carolina venue Eulogy.^[6]