The American Analog Set
Set Free
Arts & Crafts Productions Inc.
Three out of five stars
The members of The American Analog Set prefer recording their albums in the comfort of their own living room.
So, when their record label closed up shop-and studio-just two days into the production of their new album, the band was happy to go home.
There, they recorded Set Free, a remarkably calm album considering that the band just lost their record label-something that would cause any other 10-year-old band to panic or turn to narcotics.
The album is a continuation of the band's cuddly soft indie sound. No new ground is covered here; it's still the same simple two-chord melodies, rolling drumbeats played with brushes and breathy vocals.
Sounding distracted and unfocused, it's clear that Set Free was recorded in a familiar setting-it's easy to imagine the band members sneaking Chips Ahoy cookie breaks in between cuts, jamming for a little while and then falling asleep on the couch to reruns of "Seinfeld."
On this album, The American Analog Set proves that they've perfected their terrific, signature sound-only, they proved that two albums ago.
This fact makes Set Free a nice, but unessential, album-especially if you own any of the band's previous efforts.
Marshal Hogan
