Fans of Set It Off were delighted on Friday, March 13, to finally hear the band’s new album, Elsewhere, which they had been teasing for nearly five months prior to its release.

It all started with several cryptic posts on the American band’s Instagram page, featuring a mock file folder and bright colors against a black background. The fanbase, dubbed “Freaks” by singer Cody Carson, was instantly excited for a new era.

The bright color scheme is somewhat different from the band’s other albums, as many of the previous albums highlight a blue-and-gray or blue-and-black theme (excluding Set It Off’s 2011 EP Horrible Kids, and the 2012 album Cinematics). Even so, the highly-saturated theme of greens, yellows and pinks is much different from previous album art and design.

It’s theorized that the new style is a reference to the album’s meaning, new beginnings and no filters. Set It Off inspires listeners to be truly themselves in the most unique way possible with the songs in this album.

The album features 16 songs spanning just over 48 minutes. Three songs were released beforehand as singles: “Skeleton,” “Projector,” and “Who’s In Control.” All three of these songs were well-received by the fans, further exciting them for the album’s release.

Similar to their other albums, Elsewhere can be described as a pop-punk, rock, alternative and indie album.

Many people may refer to them as “emo,” based on stereotypes of the band, but their music, style and beings have always been outside of that spectrum.

On March 10, the night before the album’s release, fans on social media were buzzing about their excitement over the release of Elsewhere. Dropping at midnight, many “Freaks” couldn’t seem to wait for Friday morning to listen to the new music, and they stayed up late to listen as soon as possible. Their excitement overflowed, with lead singer Carson retweeting many posts that his fans had made in reference.

Set It Off’s label, Fearless Records, has been nonstop advertising the album since before the album’s release and in the time after its release as well. Before, they urged fans to pre-save the album on all music platforms, and after the release, they urged fans to stream it.

Many fans believe that it’s worth the almost one-hour listen, with 98 percent of Google users who participated in rating the album liking it. The music is fast, entertaining, uplifting and, most of all, enjoyable.

In fact, Elsewhere was so popular with fans that less than 14 hours after its release, the album already hit No. 1 on the iTunes Alternative Chart. The band made a celebratory post on Instagram, saying, “We can’t thank you enough… This is only the beginning.”

Set It Off is currently performing a “Welcome to Elsewhere” tour. The tour kicked off Jan. 14 and will continue through the next few months. The band will be in New York and Philadelphia in mid-April, and tickets, as well as merchandise for their new album, are available on their website, setitoffband.com.