Say Hi To Your Mom and American Analog Set 11.18.05 Southpaw

by Charlotte Deaver

Is late better than never? Do I just skip over last week’s shows? Hell no! But since it has been a whole week, I shall replace immediacy with brevity.

Last Friday night I went to see American Analog Set, a lush, melodic electronica band from Austin, TX, who have recently announced that this will be their last tour.

But opening for them was a band I prefer, Say Hi To Your Mom, who I have been touting for months now. (I’ve probably listened to the song “Laundry,” honestly, about 300 times. I love singing along with lead singer/ producer/songwriter Eric Elbogen, to the girl he’s so psyched to see at the Laundromat, the one with “with chopsticks in her hair:” “Do you come here all the time? Why are yours fluffier than mine?” Apparently he digs her “soap technique.”) The lyrics are smart and the grooves are body-healing -- sustained long enough to catch hold, but not too long to dull.

AAS was the obvious headliner, but they are so mellow and geeky that they’re not exactly a band you want to wait hours for (as we did). Saved by their full, richly-toned layers of sound, however, they didn’t entirely disappoint. They just didn’t rip the stage apart; they’re a band that wants vibe and tech to intersect keenly and smoothly, which I believe they do. And, apparently, they’re a great band to have sex to (so a friend of a friend told me), but no one’s really going to do that on the dance floor of Southpaw. So, barring that, they’make music that's good enough to sway to. Not swoon, but sway. Big difference.