Search - American Analog Set :: Promise of Love

Very good...

Simone Oltolina | Morbio Inferiore, TI Switzerland | 06/24/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Year by year AAS become less "drone-pop" and more pop! The process had already begun with their previous effort ("know by heart", also an excellent album) and is brought even further on this release, their latest.
Even if the sound retains AAS' trademark elements (for example the breathy vocals everyone familiar with the band we'll recognize...) the album is more varied, drawing at times from rock and even funk!. Don't get me wrong, there are no rock anthems or funky numbers on the album but elements from both genres seep through several tracks.
On the whole I found this album extremely good, arguably the best in their career.[...]"

Promise of Love

Kurt J. Fieser | Naperville, IL USA | 01/31/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The American Analog Set's first two albums, The Fun of Watching Fireworks and From Our Living Room To Yours, are full of long and simple, but lovingly hypnotic songs. With The Golden Band and Know By Heart, they shortened the lengths but kept their signature sound and musical sensibilities (quiet is the new loud). To me, Promise of Love is a mixture of these two kinds of albums.

The lengths run from 2:13 (Promise of Love) to 8:02 (Modern Drummer/Continuous Hit Music reprise). The album starts with "Continuous Hit Music," one of their loudest songs. "Hard to Find," with it's rubbery guitar and circuitous drum beat, is the most accessible track on the album and best displays their strengths; repetitious melodies, vibraphone, and whisper vocals. The middle of the album sags because the flow of the album is broken; The slithering "You Own Me," the quick flash "Promise of Love," and the funky drumbeat of "The Hatist." My favorite track, and the album's closer, is "Modern Drummer." The song rides on hi-hat, guitar and keyboard for a bit, then adds vibraphone, a hint of cello, and the vocals. It's a very peaceful ending to a nice, yet uneven album.

If you are an AmAnSet beginner, it's best to start with Know By Heart. If you're already a fan, you'll find something to like on this record."

Not the best of AAS...

Grant Regan | Oslo, Norway | 07/31/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I've been listening to AAS since the release of 'From Our Living Room to Yours'. For me, that remains their finest album, followed closely by 'The Golden Band' - sparse, exquisitely moving 'drone pop' as another reviewer here has called it. The departure towards what I would deem more conventional, accesible pop is not a good thing in my opinion. Yes I'm the part-pooperMost bands worth their weight in salt become more experimental, avant-garde in their later works - a la the Radiohead model. AAS on the other hand, have become more conventional from what was a unique, rich, restrained and definitive sound. While its still a good album, I'm disappointed. Tracks like Magnificent Seventies, Blue Chaise, and Weather Report herals what might-have-been if AAS had been more confident in their sound..."