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American Analog Set

By: Jessica Grose

Sure, the American Analog Set might be ambient. Singer Andrew Kenny might have a voice that would put bunnies to sleep with its soft folds and high-pitched warmth. The acoustic guitars might even be described as breathy, but don’t call the AmAnSet sissy: With song titles like the dryly hilarious “Fuck This…I’m Leaving,” Kenny and company will softly lull you into a sense of comfort and then sucker punch you with cheekiness.

The American Analog Set has honed their craft over almost ten years and several different incarnations. Their latest release, Set Free is the band’s sixth full length, and is a triumph for a band that literally began recording out of their living room in Texas. On “Fuck This…I’m Leaving,” Kenny’s voice falls somewhere in between the dulcet tones of Jason Lytle of Grandaddy and Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips. Set Free is not just straight ambient: Songs like “(Theme From) Everything Ends” has a hint of Spanish-sounding inflection and “Make It Easy,” sounds like it could have been written by Lou Barlow during his Sebadoh years.

The clever, semi-bitter lyrics of songs like “Cool Kids Keep,” are a sugarcoated gym sock when handled by AmAnSet. “The cooler kids will live forever,” Kenny breathily spews. You can be hit by American Analog Set’s perfumed daggers on tour this fall — they’ll be traversing North America in October and November in support of the September 20 release of Set Free.

American Analog Set tour dates:

10/20, Chicago, IL (Schuba’s)10/21, Chicago, IL (Schuba’s)10/22, Minneapolis, MN (Varsity Theater)10/25, Seattle, WA (Chop Suey)10/26, Vancouver, BC (Media Club)10/27, Portland, OR (Doug Fir Lounge)10/28, Eugene, OR (WOW Hall)10/29, San Francisco, CA (Bottom of the Hill)10/30, San Francisco, CA (Bottom of the Hill)11/11, Chicago, IL (Flower Booking 15th Anniversary @ Metro)11/12, Pittsburgh, PA (Andy Warhol Museum)11/13, Toronto, ON (Horseshoe Tavern)11/16, Cambridge, MA (TT the Bears)11/18, Brooklyn, NY (Southpaw)11/19, New York, NY (Mercury Lounge)

Link: American Analog Set official site