Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great new album from SF's best band, February 19, 2003
This album is a departure for Aislers Set. Yes, they still have that garage studio quality, Amy Linton's voice is as haunting and wistful as always, and the 1960s 4-track pop sound is in full force, but there is something different about this album. The dynamite-fuse energy of "The Last Match" has been supplanted by a more mature, often hypnotic sound that transcends mere mod-pop. But don't get me wrong; this is not a sluggish album. "Attraction Action Reaction" and "Languor in the Balcony" are as kinetic as you can get. But sparse tracks like "Unfinished Paintings" and the indescribable "Emotional Levy" give this album a range not seen in their other two albums.For all of their obvious influences, The Aislers Set is clearly one of the more original bands out there. I know a lot of groups that they sound like, but NOBODY sounds like THEM. Know what I mean? This is a timeless album that will sound as good in twenty years as it does now, or maybe even better. Like all the best LPs, it has a way of settling in and deepening with each play. I love it.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The House I Live In, April 16, 2003
I hadn't heard of the Aislers Set until this year. After listening to their third and latest release, however, I'm an instant convert to their mod 1960s-style pop ways. "How I Learned to Write Backwards" is even on a local Seattle label (Suicide Squeeze), although the band is based in San Francisco--and sound as if they emerged from Swinging London (or the "C-86" Scotland of groups like the Shop Assistants).
Led by songwriter/producer Amy Linton (Henry's Dress), she's somehow managed to erect an impressive Wall of Sound around her sprightly compositions--as much Jesus & Mary Chain as Phil Spector--using the most basic of ingredients, like bells, handclaps, and reverb. If you can imagine a more baroque Pavement, poppier Guided by Voices, or lower-fi Ronettes, you've got the picture. Maybe this unusual feat has something to do with the fact that Linton is also a student of architecture (hence the structurally-oriented cover art), who recently designed her first house. If that house looks anything like "How I Learned To Write Backwards" sounds, I'd love to live in it.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
if it says aislers set - buy it!, March 21, 2003
By A Customer
on their 3rd full-length masterpiece san francisco's aislers set extend their musical painting brush even further than before, touching on the darker & more abstract moments of blissed out pop. like a reviewer before me their sound resembles other bands (belle & sebastian w/ more reverb, jesus & mary chain, edith frost style vocals) but altogether they are wholly original and catchy as hell - think: garage rock/keyboards/occasional trumpet/clever arrangements/enchanting female vocals/inspiring energy & restraint all at once/great lyrics too! in some ways this is their most realized album yet, even though it's a bit shorter in length than the last 2. you really should buy all 3 and you'll be set for months on end :). also be sure to check them out when they play in your town - they're so much fun and wonderfully rocking..one of the best bands going today! if you've read this far i hope you either already have the album(s) or are going to get one for yourself right now!
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by The Aislers Set 
