The American Analog Set - The Fun of Watching Fireworks

 

The American Analog Set – The Fun of Watching Fireworks

By

Jesse E. Mullen

 

Usually, records will either be what I like to call daytime records or nighttime records. Daytime records are lively, whereas nighttime records are introspective and contemplative. Daytime records move the body, while nighttime records move the mind.

American Analog Set were the ultimate nighttime band. The Austin-based indie rock band fused Andrew Kenny’s laidback vocals and lullaby guitar playing with Lisa Roschmann’s dreamy keyboards. Their sound was influenced by Galaxie 500 and Mojave 3 – also nighttime bands – but they were in a league of their own in terms of where they took it.

The Analog Set released their debut album The Fun of Watching Fireworks in the summer of 1996. It was critically acclaimed on the independent circuit and built the band a cult following in Austin. But one has to ask – how well does a niche record from 25 years ago hold up?

The album opens with a crawl on the dreamy “Diana Slowburner II.” A keyboard which sounds like it’s been beamed in from outer space opens the track. Kenny’s guitar enters, sounding like something out of a dream sequence in a movie. But it isn’t just atmosphere over substance – the atmosphere is the substance.

“On My Way” has a bit of a western feel, but with Roschmann’s keyboards droning on top. It also has the feeling of “Kaleidoscope World” by The Chills. The rhythm of the drums resembles the German space rock of the 70s. It’s easy to picture Can doing something like this, as part of their international music experiments series.

Perhaps “Gone To Earth” is the most important track on the album. The track is the most atmospheric on the album, while also feeling the widest in scope. It was later re-recorded without Roschmann for 2001’s Know by Heart. But the starker production of that album strips away some of the mystique.

Some albums crash out of the gate with attitude and bombast. Others slowly creep into your brain and subconscious. The Fun of Watching Fireworks is firmly in the latter category. As the ultimate nighttime band, American Analog Set prove that there is still value in their slow, cerebral music 25 years later.

Emperor Jones/1996