The American Analog Set
The Golden Band
Emperor Jones, PO Box 49771, Austin TX 78765, ejrecords@aol.com
Release Date: August 1999
I first heard about American Analog Set in an interview on National Public
Radio -- a noble venture, but not exactly the voice of the underground. The
interviewer -- a seasoned newswoman, not a music reviewer or culture critic
-- was dumbstruck that such a band could exist. In an era where anything
fast must be made faster, where engineers rush ever-more-sophisticated
products to market, where technology is obsolete even before it hits store
shelves, there exists this group of musicians who insist on recording in
the living room, playing vintage instruments, and striving for a sound that
recalls the phonograph instead of the minidisc. To the reporter on the
radio, this seemed almost as odd and intriguing as someone who still had
ice delivered in big blocks by a man in a horse-drawn cart.
It would have been easy to deride this reporter for overstepping her
expertise, for cooing about the novelty of a band that eschews high-tech
studio effects in favor of a do-it-yourself approach. Of course, in the
world of indie rock such efforts are relatively common. But this was one
case where wide-eyed wonder sheds light on just how wonderful something
really is.
Plenty of bands are playing old keyboards and retro guitars and trying to
escape the sterility that plagues over-produced mass-market recordings. But
few have managed it as well as American Analog Set. The Golden Band
sets a new standard. The band opts for slow, patient songs that build
through repetition and subtle evolution. Spare, well-chosen guitar lines
decorate a lush buzz built from keyboards and bass. The songs' structure
and mood are not unlike an artist such as DJ Shadow, though the music
sounds more organic and draws from influences that are clealry more
rock-n-roll than hip hop or electronica.
"It's All About Us" is perhaps the best example on the album of American
Analog Set's approach to songwriting. The beginning of the song is sparse
and abstract, revolving around little more than musical fragments. Then,
the band tempts the listeners with a few hints of what is to come -- a
little bass riff, maybe, or a few notes from the keyboard. In this
atmosphere, even a simple chord change sounds momentous. It isn't until
three minutes into the track that the strong, supple melody finally emerges
full-blown. By then, you've waited so long that it sounds like a revelation
from above.
The Golden Band might take some listeners a little while to get used
to. Some of the songs enrobe you in such a warm, wet aura that on a hot
summer day they're almost clausterphopic. Other tracks can seem a bit
monotonous, but after a few passes their quiet, persistent intensity
prevails. Of course, some don't quite come together as planned. "I Must
Soon Quit the Scene" pounds an only-slightly-interesting vibes riff into
the ground, and "Will the Real Danny Radnor Please Stand?" just sounds like
a boring little guitar song after all that has come before it. But those
are the last two tracks on the album, and they are easily ignored.
At the end of the interview, the NPR reporter asked if the members of
American Analog Set considered themselves to be a punk rock band. The band
members chuckled -- they, too, had seemed a little befuddled by their
encounter with public radio. But the reporter's question made something
clear, about her, about us. As for her, it proved that she had crossed
generational and cultural gaps and somehow understood, deep down, what this
was all about. And as for us, it showed that punk-rock values don't always
have to screech and blare, but can sneak up almost silently and hit just as
hard.
-- Chris Schwartz
schwartz@outersound.com
