It’s an interesting parallel that just as Death Cab for Cutie are launching their first major label album amidst a large publicity push, fellow indie pop veterans The American Analog Set are releasing a new album (their sixth full length) on their third indie label in four albums. Having seen their previous label, Tiger Style, dissolve, The American Analog Set recorded “Set Free” in a variety of cities over a year, without a label, and frequently short of money. Well, perhaps adversity fuels the American Analog Set, because “Set Free” (picked up by Canadian label Arts & Crafts, home to Broken Social Scene) is a tremendous album, matching the heights of the bands. This in not entirely surprising considering that The American Analog Set has gotten better with each album, reaching peaks with 2001’s “Know By Heart” and 2003’s “Promise of Love.” What is perhaps most surprising is that while perhaps better than either album, “Set Free” is a different kind of album, more in common with their calmer earlier work.
It might seem worrisome for a band to depart from the momentum of two excellent albums of upbeat quirky orchestral pop to return to the sleepy pop drone jams of an album like “The Golden Band.” Not that there is anything wrong with their early work, but we get used to the idea of trajectory and musical evolution. However, it’s almost as if The American Analog Set have grown more accomplished and confident in their abilities over the years, and have returned to a sound they explored well on earlier albums, now to perfect it. The first half of “Set Free” does have more of the soft drone, slightly jazzy sound of “The Golden Band,” but with the superb pop chops displayed by The American Analog Set on their last two albums. This is all a matter of degrees, as well. The American Analog Set always sounds like The American Analog Set and no one else, and no one else sounds exactly like The American Analog Set. Their sound is exacting: lightly brushed drums, stirring, ringing guitars notes, pretty and delicately hushed vocals, the slow buzz of Farfisa organ, the chime of Rhodes piano, melodic bass rhythms. While many bands use vintage instruments like Farfisa or vibraphone as a cred crutch, The American Analog Set have always been able to employ them in the service of great songs, capturing the distinctive sounds of the instruments.
Two hallmarks of The American Analog Set has always been that their albums function quite well as albums (rather than an assemblage of individual songs), and that their albums are always engineered/produced magnificently. Both are truer than ever for “Set Free.” The American Analog Set write impressively simple songs, ones that often repeat the same chord progression for the entire song, developing through instrument layering and vocal interplay. This may be lost on a quick listen to one song, yet it is apparent over the course of the entirety of “Set Free.” These songs fit together, melodic themes reappear from one song to the next, and you want to hear all of “Set Free” rather skipping to only a few songs. At the same time, “She’s Half” might be the most blissfully gorgeous song The American Analog Set have ever recorded. Vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Andrew Kenny has grown a knack for singing in a whispered but passionate way. It’s forceful yet fragile. So when he sings “There’s something in the arm of your record player, that’s giving me the chills” above the chugging rhythm of “First of Four,” it’s such a great pop moment that it does nearly give you chills. Similarly, the drums on “Set Free” sound outstanding, so closely microphoned, you can nearly tell exactly where Mark Smith is hitting his cymbal each time.
It’s true that “Set Free” is a less exuberant album than “Promise of Love,” a distinction perhaps best exemplified by the difference in album titles. “Set Free” is an album of songs may have a bit more hurt in them, and consequently are a little more reserved. At the same time, The American Analog Set has never released an album so consistently first-rate. “Set Free” is understated, to the point where you almost don’t realized how good it is because of how listenable it is. That is, until you reach last track “Fuck This… I’m Leaving” and immediately want to hear the whole damn album again. |