American Analog Set - Promise of Love
(Tiger Style)
American Analog Set, authors of the subtle love song, emotionally engaging for even a faux-intellectual like me—isn't this the music one puts on the stereo to woo a potential loved one? The older I grow, the less pop I find that actually speaks to me; McCaughan can do it when he's not writing things like "I'm a lover not a fighter" and Gibbard has that power if he's not being a schmaltzy emo-gent, but sadly most pop is stuck in the twee realm of simplified relationships and even simpler instrumentation. Andrew Kenny too has this power, the promise of a mature love song—ah, nuance—the articulation of the unspoken bits of a relationship, Promise of Love continues American Analog Set's exploration of the delicate pop structure, songs with unassuming hooks and vocals, the music and the lyrics working in concert with each other to tug at the heartstrings, but not in a contrived way, but rather in a manner that can actually make you ache, either with nostalgic melancholy or blissful lightness, that is, music with an effect in lieu of affect. Not as good as Know by Heart or The Golden Band, but still top notch.
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