Set Free - American Analog Set

Set Free

American Analog Set
Arts & Crafts.

SCQ Rating: 79%

There have been times in my life where, I swear, if a fire was smoldering my house to ash, the only records I’d grab would be my American Analog Set collection. It’s a curious revelation to have, since even the most unabashed of Amanset fans will admit that 1) they’re hardly ambitious and 2) their records wouldn’t present me with a grand variation of musicianship. So why do I often convince myself that my Amanset CDs would get me through the loss of my entire music catalogue? Because they’re ambitious on their own terms; crafting a muted rock sound that has become synonymous with their name, then slowly broadening their scope with each record. They’ve become indie mainstays thanks to their dedication to a now trademarked lo-fi aesthetic, and due to Andrew Kenny and crew’s steadfast vision, their first studio release is as intimate and unnerving as past efforts. Plus, what better band to carry me through such an upsetting and fiery aftermath?

If The Golden Band displayed the band at their most ambient and if Promise of Love was their rock album, Set Free is certainly their break-up swan song. The only album dutifully recorded in studio (several, in fact), this final release before their indefinite hiatus has a Long and Winding Road feel – luckily without the schmaltz. ‘She’s Half’ features multi-tracked vocals which harmonize the lyrical melancholy to wonderful effect, while ‘The Green Green Grass’ is as rocking as the Texas quintet get, locking into a tight guitar riff and dousing it in crystal psychedelics. By the time ‘Fuck This… I’m Leaving’ opens into electric strumming to close the disc, we’re left with little doubt that this is American Analog Set’s most ear-catching collection, and the fact that the band drove thousands of miles to record bits and pieces in various studios makes Set Free’s cohesiveness all the more impressive.

Little things Amanset fans have come to adore about the band are here as well: the multi-track song suites, usually half sung, half instrumental, are brief but accomplished, and the dirge-slow numbers that would be grunge if they weren’t so clean (and with vibraphone, of course) are plentiful. Most true fans will take solace in Set Free because even when the band are looking at the end of their career, the songs don't dare show a hint of unprofessionalism. ‘Sharp Briar’ is the kind of lovely song that catches on after several listens and becomes an unmentioned but integral part of the album’s indescribable feel.

Each Amanset album is insular and, because their sixth album does little to deter that self-consciously sensitive reputation, Set Free is a certainly a record I’d fight the flames to save while my apartment collapsed around me. It’s a worthy curtain-close for a band that never seemed to care whether anyone was listening; they were playing their songs, their way. I’m just happy I found them in time to say goodbye.