Customer Reviews

Last Match

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Alright kids, I have a confession to make. I'm addicted to The Aislers Set's Last Match. I simply cannot stop listening to it, and i first bought it about 7 months ago. If you have even half an ear for melody, you'll fall in love with this flawless record. Trust me.

Excellent songwriting, production values, and musicianship. I have to say that the drumming really stands out. Yoshi Nakamoto just bangs the drum like no other. Even though his work has been consistent throughout his career (Drunk With Buddah, Nuckle Brothers, Scenic Vermont, Poastal), this has been his biggest achievement. Yoshi forever.

Without having to sound like a broken record, this is just a terrific album. From start to finish, this is a wonderful release by the talented San Francisco indie-pop group. Songs like "The Way to the Market Station," "Last Match," and "The Walk" are chock full of melodies that seem to have come from somewhere you've been before but can't quite place it. Our favorite, "The Red Door," is a bouncy number recalling Linton's earlier songwriting style in Henry's Dress or even their pop predecessors The Field Mice. This is one of the finer albums released this year.

This band is highly underrated, and Last Match is arguably their best album to date (although "How I Learned to Write Backwards" is nothing to sneeze at). The spontaneous energy of their earlier career remains, but is tempered with huge strides in songwriting and performance abilities. Check it out!

Amy Linton has returned back with The Aisler's Set to make a more complete and smoother album than their debut 1998 LP "Terrible Things Happen" which was like digging for gold. The first few listens leave you weary but when it finally grows on you it shines bright.

"The Last Match" however is more enjoyable the first listen and features past favorites like "Been Hiding". If you consider yourself a music fan you'll have to buy this one.

If you liked the Aisler's Set's last album Terrible Things Happen, chances are you'll love their 2nd album even more. This time around, their sound is better than ever, the songs are very addicting that the disc won't leave your CD player for a while. Also, their live shows are great, so if you have the chance, SEE THEM! It's an absolute-must and this album is a must for people who love great music!

I heard this SF band's third album playing at Ameoba Records in Hollywood and was immediately curious. Judging from their frequent mention in that record store's "Best of..." booklets, they seem to be known more in the Bay Area. The third album builds on what this one, the second, creates: a reverberating, cavernous, ominous depth like that with which producer Martin Hannett surrounded Joy Division (described well in Simon Reynolds' "Rip It Up and Start Again: Post-Punk 1979-1984, also reviewed by me). This vertiginous plunge is balanced, as Amy Linton's earlier band "Henry's Dress" and the Aislers Set's "Terrible Things Happen" debut were wandering towards: Phil Spector's girl groups meet the mods meets noisy pop-punk.

The results may seem grim; the lyrics are often downbeat. But the pitch of singers Amy and Wyatt conjures up a smoother approach. The tense balance between the pop and the doom creates the blend that The Aislers Set brews.

This thin delicate surface conceals a frozen still lake. Icy attitude cloaked in rippling textures. My favorite songs are the opener, the perky "The Way to Market Street," and a cover of a standout track off Slumberland label mates 14 Iced Bears' "In the Beginning" compilation, "Balloon Song." My four stars are not a criticism, but only an indication that the results over the length, albeit typically brief for Amy's efforts, may lull you. If you want to be let down easily, however, this is a good album to slouch by. The band's tart consistency, as with many Slumberland records, may work for or against your tastes. The sour pop sound of wistful angst: this is served up in 14 sharp, tangy flavors.

I am a boy but Aislers Set makes me feel like a little girl. The music makes me want to fly like an eagle, soaring into unforseen heights of beauty.... If you like the gansta flave of eminem and you like dope bass lines then this is right for you.