# The American Analog Set
**The American Analog Set** (often shortened to The AmAnSet) is an American indie rock band from [Austin, Texas](https://www.edgepedia.org/austin-texas), formed in 1995, known for a quiet, slow-burning sound built on vintage keyboards, hushed vocals, and sparse guitars. The name derived from the band's preference for analog rather than digital recording media.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-american-analog-set-mn0000011649/biography) • [2](https://www.last.fm/music/The%2BAmerican%2BAnalog%2BSet/%2Bwiki) After six albums between 1996 and 2005 and a long hiatus, the band returned in 2023 with its seventh album, *For Forever*.[3](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/the-american-analog-set-for-forever/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Origin | Formed 1995 in Austin, Texas, from the ashes of the Dallas-based Electric Company[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-american-analog-set-mn0000011649/biography) |
| Members | Andrew Kenny (guitar, vocals), Lisa Roschmann (Farfisa organ), Mark Smith (drums), Lee Gillespie (bass), later Tom Hoff (keyboards) and Sean Ripple (guitar, vibraphone)[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-american-analog-set-mn0000011649/biography) |
| Sound | Vintage keyboards, brushed drums, breathy vocals; influences include 1970s German art rock, Stereolab, Galaxie 500, and Yo La Tengo[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-american-analog-set-mn0000011649/biography) |
| First releases | Debut single "Diana Slowburner II" (March 26, 1996) and debut album *The Fun of Watching Fireworks* (August 20, 1996), both on Emperor Jones[4](https://www.amanset.com/discography) |
| Signature album | *Know by Heart* (2001, Tiger Style), the first without the Farfisa organ and a formative influence on Ben Gibbard[5](https://therecoup.com/2014/06/02/like-a-jewel-curled-around-your-finger-the-story-of-the-american-analog-sets-know-by-heart/) • [3](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/the-american-analog-set-for-forever/) |
| Hiatus and return | Inactive after 2005's *Set Free*; re-formed for *For Forever* (2023, Hometown Fantasy), the first album in 18 years[2](https://www.last.fm/music/The%2BAmerican%2BAnalog%2BSet/%2Bwiki) • [3](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/the-american-analog-set-for-forever/) |
| Archival releases | *New Drifters* (2024, Numero Group) collected the 1990s albums with unreleased tracks and singles[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-american-analog-set-mn0000011649/biography) |
## Origins and early sound
The group evolved from the Dallas-based Electric Company in 1994. After that band ended, guitarist and vocalist Andrew Kenny, Farfisa organist Lisa Roschmann, and drummer Mark Smith reunited in Austin to cut impromptu four-track recordings that led them to re-form. Bassist Lee Gillespie joined, and the quartet took the name the American Analog Set.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-american-analog-set-mn0000011649/biography)
Their sound drew on the same influences as [Stereolab](https://www.edgepedia.org/stereolab), namely 1970s German art rock and space age pop, alongside American touchstones such as [Galaxie 500](https://www.edgepedia.org/galaxie-500) and the slow-burn, avant-garde tendencies of [Yo La Tengo](https://www.edgepedia.org/yo-la-tengo).[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-american-analog-set-mn0000011649/biography) After their second gig, they signed with the local label Emperor Jones, a subsidiary of Trance Syndicate, and issued the single "Diana Slowburner II" on March 26, 1996; the debut album *The Fun of Watching Fireworks* followed on August 20, 1996.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-american-analog-set-mn0000011649/biography) • [4](https://www.amanset.com/discography) The band recorded at home with cheap gear, experimenting to capture a mix of restraint and tempered emotion on tape.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-american-analog-set-mn0000011649/biography)
## The Emperor Jones years
The second album, *From Our Living Room to Yours* (July 8, 1997), was recorded the same way and brought the vocals forward more often. That year the band also contributed *Late One Sunday and the Following Morning*, a more ambient EP, to Darla Records' Bliss Out series.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-american-analog-set-mn0000011649/biography) • [4](https://www.amanset.com/discography) The third album, *The Golden Band* (July 6, 1999), featured shorter, more immediate songs with guitars in the lead and keyboards as flavoring.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-american-analog-set-mn0000011649/biography) • [4](https://www.amanset.com/discography)
Roschmann's exit soon after *The Golden Band* left the group in limbo, but Kenny, Smith, and Gillespie refocused with keyboardist [Tom Hoff](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-hoff) and guitarist and vibraphonist Sean Ripple. The new lineup brought a more layered sound with a wider range of keyboards.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-american-analog-set-mn0000011649/biography) Kenny later recalled that the band considered changing its name, since it felt like a different group, but kept it to avoid the hassles of starting over and to keep playing their back catalog.[5](https://therecoup.com/2014/06/02/like-a-jewel-curled-around-your-finger-the-story-of-the-american-analog-sets-know-by-heart/)
## Know by Heart and the later albums
*Know by Heart*, released by Tiger Style in 2001, marked the change. Hoff preferred playing the [Rhodes piano](https://www.edgepedia.org/rhodes-piano) to the Farfisa or any organ, and the album ended up with very little organ at all, a shift away from what many considered the band's key instrument. The long hazy jams gave way to short, compact songs centered on Kenny's singing and songwriting.[5](https://therecoup.com/2014/06/02/like-a-jewel-curled-around-your-finger-the-story-of-the-american-analog-sets-know-by-heart/) The same year, the singles collection *Through the 90s: Singles and Unreleased* gathered material from the original quartet on Emperor Jones.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-american-analog-set-mn0000011649/biography) • [4](https://www.amanset.com/discography)
Kenny moved to New York City in 2002 to begin a PhD program at Columbia, but the band remained active. A tour with Her Space Holiday and the remix EP *Updates* followed in July 2002. *Promise of Love* (2003), the band's second Tiger Style release, continued the sonic expansion with cellos and female vocals; Hoff was unable to tour in support, so Craig McCaffery joined for shows with Ester Drang and the Album Leaf.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-american-analog-set-mn0000011649/biography)
In 2005 the band signed with Arts & Crafts for *Set Free*, its sixth album, which settled deeper into the mature sound of buzzy organs, neo-motorik (steady, relentless 4/4 krautrock-style drumming) drums played with brushes, breathy vocals, and Rhodes piano. It proved to be their last record for a long time.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-american-analog-set-mn0000011649/biography) • [6](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/159-set-free/)
## Hiatus, return, and archival releases
After the split, Kenny worked with [Ben Gibbard](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-gibbard) and [Broken Social Scene](https://www.edgepedia.org/broken-social-scene) before focusing on his new group the Wooden Birds, which leaned toward acoustic music and folk and issued *Magnolia* (2009) and *Two Matchsticks* (2011) before ceasing operations.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-american-analog-set-mn0000011649/biography) A couple of years later, Kenny, Gillespie, Smith, Hoff, and Ripple began working on new songs, a slow process that took several years and produced the seventh album, *For Forever*, released on the Hometown Fantasy label in late 2023. The record hewed closely to the band's established sound, with a couple of songs carrying more forceful vocals from Kenny.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-american-analog-set-mn0000011649/biography) Pitchfork's review called it the first American Analog Set album in 18 years and noted a slightly sharper edge, with instruments stripped of the cottony production of the Emperor Jones era and the 12-and-a-half-minute title track stretching a repeated mantra.[3](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/the-american-analog-set-for-forever/)
The band did not issue new recordings in the following few years but was involved with two archival releases in conjunction with the Numero Group: 2024's *New Drifters*, collecting the 1990s albums plus unreleased tracks and singles, and 2026's *Destroy Destroy Destroy*, covering the 2000s output.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-american-analog-set-mn0000011649/biography) The reunion also brought live work, including Austin dates in September 2024 and shows opening for [Death Cab for Cutie](https://www.edgepedia.org/death-cab-for-cutie) at Brooklyn Paramount in August 2025.[7](https://www.concertarchives.org/bands/the-american-analog-set)
## Reception and influence
Critics consistently noted the band's singular consistency. A Pitchfork review of *Set Free* described buzzy organs, brushed neo-motorik drums, breathy vocals, and Rhodes piano as hallmarks since the start, calling the sound a genuine signature that no one else really shares.[6](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/159-set-free/) At first, listeners regarded the band's timid approach to unhurried indie rock as a continuation of Yo La Tengo and Stereolab, and it helped shape Ben Gibbard, who showed up on the AmAnSet song "The Postman" two years before putting out *Give Up* with the Postal Service.[3](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/the-american-analog-set-for-forever/) The opener of *Know by Heart*, "Punk as Fuck", became the band's most popular song.[3](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/the-american-analog-set-for-forever/)
## References
1. [The American Analog Set — Biography, Discography, Albums & Expert Reviews, AllMusic (Jason Ankeny)](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-american-analog-set-mn0000011649/biography)
2. [The American Analog Set hometown, lineup, biography, Last.fm](https://www.last.fm/music/The%2BAmerican%2BAnalog%2BSet/%2Bwiki)
3. [The American Analog Set: For Forever Album Review, Pitchfork (Ian Cohen, November 2, 2023)](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/the-american-analog-set-for-forever/)
4. [Discography — The American Analog Set (official site)](https://www.amanset.com/discography)
5. [Like A Jewel Curled Around Your Finger: The Story of The American Analog Set's Know By Heart, The Recoup (June 2, 2014)](https://therecoup.com/2014/06/02/like-a-jewel-curled-around-your-finger-the-story-of-the-american-analog-sets-know-by-heart/)
6. [The American Analog Set: Set Free Album Review, Pitchfork (Joe Tangari, September 19, 2005)](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/159-set-free/)
7. [The American Analog Set Concert & Tour History, Concert Archives](https://www.concertarchives.org/bands/the-american-analog-set)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Ensembles and groups › Rock, pop, and metal bands › Rock, indie, and pop groups › Indie and alternative bands › Indie pop bands › American indie and alternative bands › 1980s and 1990s bands*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license