The American Analog Set

The American Analog Set fuses a gentle glow of retro keyboards with understated, emotionally contained singing, minimal guitars, and a tight rhythm section, producing music rooted in earlier eras such as 1970s German rock and late-1980s American Underground yet forward-looking in a domestic, handmade fashion. Early synchronization between guitars and keys caused releases like 1996's The Fun of Watching Fireworks to be grouped with the space rock movement. The band later embraced a more melody-driven, guitar-led direction, as heard on 2003's Promise of Love, before disbanding. Their 2023 return with For Forever resumed directly from the style they had developed decades prior.

The ensemble arose in 1994 from the remains of Dallas-based Electric Company. Once that group ended, guitarist/vocalist Andrew Kenny, Farfisa organist Lisa Roschmann, and drummer Mark Smith reconvened in Austin for several spontaneous four-track sessions that convinced them to regroup. Bassist Lee Gillespie joined shortly afterward, after which the quartet adopted the name American Analog Set and shaped a sound drawing from the same wellsprings as Stereolab—namely 1970s German art rock and space age pop—while incorporating distinctly American touches such as Galaxie 500's enigmatic allure and Yo La Tengo's slow-burn experimental bent. Following only their second performance they secured a contract with the Austin label Emperor Jones, a Trance Syndicate subsidiary, and released the debut single "Diana Slowburner II." Their first album, the understated The Fun of Watching Fireworks, appeared in 1996; recorded at home on inexpensive equipment, it resulted from prolonged experimentation aimed at capturing precisely the right equilibrium of restraint and measured feeling.

Their second album, 1997's From Our Living Room to Yours, was tracked identically and featured a subtle adjustment that placed vocals more prominently. That year they also supplied Darla's Bliss Out series with the typically more atmospheric EP Late One Sunday & the Following Morning. The third album, The Golden Band, arrived in 1999 and consisted of shorter, more direct songs in which guitars assumed the primary role while keyboards functioned chiefly as seasoning. Roschmann's departure soon after left the group adrift, yet Kenny, Smith, and Gillespie reorganized by adding keyboardist Tom Hoff and guitarist/vibraphonist Sean Ripple. The new lineup accompanied a sonic shift toward denser arrangements, reduced sparseness, and a broader keyboard palette. Know by Heart, issued by Tiger Style in 2001, marked the first album in this vein. The same year Emperor Jones released the singles collection Through the 90s, assembling singles and unreleased recordings by the original quartet. Kenny relocated to New York City in 2002 to begin a PhD program at Columbia, yet AmAnSet persisted.

A tour with Her Space Holiday and the remix EP Updates followed in July 2002. Promise of Love, the band's second Tiger Style release, appeared in 2003 and extended their gradual sonic expansion through the inclusion of cellos and female vocals. Because Hoff could not tour, Craig McCaffery joined for dates supporting Ester Drang and the Album Leaf. Two years later the American Analog Set moved to Arts & Crafts for their sixth album, Set Free, which found them settling further into a mature sound. It also became their final release for an extended period, after which the band split and Kenny collaborated with Ben Gibbard and Broken Social Scene before turning to his new project the Wooden Birds. That group inclined more toward acoustic and folk music while retaining the restraint and simplicity Kenny had cultivated in AmAnSet. They issued two albums—2009's Magnolia and 2011's Two Matchsticks—before ceasing activity. Several years later Kenny, Gillespie, Smith, Hoff, and Ripple reunited and began writing new material. The process unfolded slowly over a few years, ultimately yielding the seventh American Analog Set album, For Forever, released on the Hometown Fantasy label in late 2023. The record stayed close to the sound they had established in earlier decades, save for a couple of tracks that carried more forceful vocals from Kenny.