“False Alarm”
from the album Magnolia
2009
iTunes
Since founding American Analog Set in the mid-’90s, Andrew Kenny has lent his services to acts ranging from Styrofoam to Broken Social Scene. It would make perfect sense, then, for his new project’s debut album to be all over the musical map.
But it’s not. Kenny keeps things incredibly low key. The tunes are soft, but not generally somber. “False Alarm” and “The Other One” are catchy sing-a-longs, driven by Kenny’s airy tenor and understated acoustic guitar. Both “Hailey” and “Hometown Fantasy” would sound even better when played around a campfire.
It’s not always sunshine for the Birds, however. Despite the beautiful boy/girl harmonies, the phrase “I hope you choke” (from “Choke”) is still rather menacing and “Anna Paula” has a similar dark feel. But Kenny doesn’t say blue for long — the album end with two beauties, “Seven Seventeen” and “Bad.”
If quiet is the new loud, this is album will blow out the speakers.