> Switch to Advanced Search

New & Current Releases
Archives: A-Z Index
Advanced Search

Upcoming Release Calendar
All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Music In Our Forums

sort by name

sort by score

64 A Camp
78 Akron/Family
73 Dave Alvin & the Guilty Women
74 Amazing Baby
62 Tori Amos
54 The Answer
74 Anti-Flag
74 Art Brut
71 Au Revoir Simone
65 Zee Avi
70 Bachelorette
77 Bat For Lashes
68 Big Business
76 Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses
67 Black Dice
57 Black Eyed Peas
74 Black Moth Super Rainbow
71 Blank Dogs
65 Booker T.
54 The Boxmasters
65 The Boy Least Likely To
74 Brakes [aka brakesbrakesbrakes]
68 British Sea Power
66 Jeff Buckley
75 Busdriver
59 Busta Rhymes
64 Cage The Elephant
82 Bill Callahan
80 Camera Obscura
68 Cam'ron
79 Casiotone For The Painfully Alone
58 Chester French
82 The Church
61 Ciara
72 Clues
69 The Coathangers
74 Jarvis Cocker
90 Leonard Cohen
70 Elvis Costello
66 Graham Coxon
76 Crippled Black Phoenix
71 The Crocodiles
69 Cryptacize
71 Crystal Antlers
56 The Crystal Method
69 Dananananaykroyd
76 Danger Mouse And Sparklehorse
71 De La Soul
77 Death Cab For Cutie
68 Deer Tick
81 Deerhunter
70 Depeche Mode
78 Dinosaur Jr.
85 Dirty Projectors
86 DJ Quik & Kurupt
77 Doves
68 Dredg
76 Bob Dylan
82 Steve Earle
70 Eels
62 El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez Lopez
58 Eminem
60 Empire Of The Sun
54 The Enemy
67 Jeremy Enigk
68 Nathan Fake
85 The Felice Brothers
79 The Field
65 Fink
60 Fischerspooner
77 Flatlanders
62 Flo Rida
64 Franz Ferdinand
77 Gallows
72 Melody Gardot
59 Ginuwine
71 Golden Silvers
61 Gomez
69 Grand Duchy
73 Great Lake Swimmers
59 Great Northern
72 Green Day
86 Grizzly Bear
75 The Handsome Family
69 Ben Harper And Relentless7
75 PJ Harvey & John Parish
66 Heaven & Hell
85 Levon Helm
74 The Hold Steady
79 Patterson Hood
75 Jon Hopkins
82 The Horrors
69 Hanne Hukkelberg
74 Ida Maria
65 Immaculate Machine
75 The Intelligence
76 Iron & Wine
79 Isis
68 It Hugs Back
88 J Dilla aka Jay Dee
61 Jadakiss
86 Japandroids
61 Joan Of Arc
84 Joe Lovano Us Five
72 John Doe & The Sadies
70 Joker's Daughter
62 Jonas Brothers
53 Mike Jones
71 The Juan Maclean
76 Junior Boys
68 Kasabian
74 Diana Krall
56 Lady Sovereign
43 Ben Lee
68 The Lemonheads
76 Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard
77 Lindstrom & Prins Thomas
65 Little Boots
79 The Low Anthem
67 Jason Lytle
75 The Maccabees
76 Magik Markers
80 Major Lazer
70 Malajube
71 Manchester Orchestra
85 Manic Street Preachers
57 Marilyn Manson
66 The Mars Volta
68 Dave Matthews Band
62 Maximo Park
70 Meat Puppets
80 Method Man & Redman
77 Metric
75 Micachu & The Shapes
69 Chrisette Michele
76 Miike Snow
67 Mika Miko
75 Rhett Miller
49 Mims
72 Mr. Lif
72 Moby
78 Moderat
70 Mandy Moore
80 Mos Def
70 Bob Mould
74 Nadja
72 New York Dolls
72 Nite Jewel
67 NOFX
76 Noisettes
60 Paolo Nutini
67 Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band
74 Papercuts
76 Passion Pit
74 Peaches
71 Pet Shop Boys
68 Peter Bjorn And John
82 Phoenix
76 Pink Mountaintops
63 Placebo
66 Pomegranates
64 Iggy Pop
67 Prefuse 73
81 Ramblin' Jack Elliott
76 Rancid
54 Rascal Flatts
68 Lionel Richie
77 Alasdair Roberts
73 Rick Ross
55 Asher Roth
72 Savath & Savalas
61 Polly Scattergood
65 The Shortwave Set
60 Shout Out Out Out Out
66 Silversun Pickups
85 Todd Snider
78 Sonic Youth
72 The Soundcarriers
61 The Sounds
74 Regina Spektor
63 Spinal Tap
65 Spinnerette
81 St. Vincent
59 Still Flyin'
58 Street Sweeper Social Club
87 Sunn O)))
82 Sunset Rubdown
84 Super Furry Animals
74 Richard Swift
78 Taking Back Sunday
85 Tanya Morgan
81 Otis Taylor
71 Telekinesis
70 Telepathe
80 Thee Oh Sees
79 The Thermals
74 Rob Thomas
64 Thunderheist
74 Tiga
57 Tinted Windows
72 Tortoise
82 Allen Toussaint
71 Trembling Bells
69 Two Fingers
84 UGK
68 Keith Urban
71 John Vanderslice
85 The Vaselines
74 The Veils
73 Viva Voce
63 Patrick Watson
79 White Denim
77 White Rabbits
57 The Whitest Boy Alive
74 Wilco
80 Wildbirds & Peacedrums
78 Wolves In The Throne Room
65 The Wooden Birds
67 Wooden Shjips
81 Yeah Yeah Yeahs
70 Pete Yorn
93 Neil Young
60 Neil Young
72 Yusuf

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

Promise Of Love
by American Analog Set


8.0

based on 20 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 8 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

Set Free

Tiger Style

The Austin, Texas-based drone-pop qunitet--known to friends and reviewers as AmAnSet--returns with their fifth LP.

LABEL:	Tiger Style
RELEASE DATE:	17 June 2003
DISCS:	1 disc
GENRE(S):	Indie, Rock

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Magnet

What's miraculous about Promise Of Love is the way the band instills the music with such incredible warmth. [#59, p.85]

Flak Magazine

AmAnSet's output is predictable, delivering what the Austin, Texas, group does best: floating melodies and whispered vocals in songs about you and me and now, all the things that came between us.

PopMatters

They may not aim to change the world, but it couldn't hurt if a few more people were exposed to music as subtly accomplished as that found on Promise of Love.

Mojo

Promise of Love's cyclical episodes unravel at an amenable mid-pace, each one allowed just enough time to establish a mood bfore halting as over-familiarity threatens. [Jul 2003, p.101]

Alternative Press

Narcotic, hypnotic and quietly cerebral, it's more satisfying and less elusive. [Jul 2003, p.112]

Blender

Somehow the emotions bleed through, raw as hell. [#17, p.132]

Splendid

AmAnSet gives us dance music that's perfect to sit down and listen to, opening an imaginary club in our heads.

Delusions of Adequacy

Anyone who’s familiar with The American Analog Set knows what to expect and won’t be disappointed by this album.

Pitchfork

This disc is aural aloe.

Stylus Magazine

Promise Of Love is chock-full of pretty, melancholic music. In other words money well spent.

Q Magazine

It's the simple beauty that overwhelms here. [Sep 2003, p.98]

Uncut

While nothing new, a hypnotic hum and gently insistent melody sees them through. [Aug 2003, p.102]

The Wire

Initially sounds nothing special but gradually crawls into your subconscious and sets up home. [#233, p.72]

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Promise Of Love has a leftover-ish feel, especially coming on the heels of the accessible, eclectic Know By Heart, but the Texas lounge-rock group remains pleasantly listenable.

Spin

A little rockier, a little slower, and a little less transporting. [Jul 2003, p.110]

All Music Guide

The changes are so minute and the record so unassuming and melody free that it is really hard to care about the band anymore.

Junkmedia

And though the album is full of promising leads and sharp-witted initiative, it's hard to shake the feeling that this album is a collection of unfinished ideas, presented with no pretensions to the contrary.

Austin Chronicle

Promise never runs out of steam or succumbs to laziness, but it's never as engaging as it should be, either.

Rolling Stone

End[s] up sounding timid and a little tedious.

Dusted Magazine

Promise Of Love would be a good joint, by indie rock standards, if the passive-aggressive everyschmuck ex-girlfriend mixed-tape staples on the latter half didn’t suck so badly.

The average user rating for this album is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 8 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Daniel F gave it a10:
Subtle, shimmering, and breathtakingly gorgeuos chillout reflection music.

cuss daddy gave it a 9:
it's such a jam...back to their roots, see? you think you do, but you don't...you really don't.

Julie W gave it a 10:
AmAnSet has somehow topped their amazing full length "know by heart", I have no idea how they did it. Promis of love is so extremely lush and softly inviting, yet poppy and satisfying. Andrew kenny's voice is stronger and sexier than its ever been, its like hes standing only feet away from you. Perfect summer time jams, a must for any kid who considers themselves an indie lover.

adam g gave it a 10:
This is by far their best album to date. The songs are just perfect. Andrew Kenney's vocals are angel-like and the rhythm is tighter than ever. I highly recommend this.

Nick S gave it a 6:
This album is kind of a throwback. It goes back more to from our living room to yours and the fun of watching fireworks than off of Updatez EP or Know by Heart. After hearing the song These Days and the single track from promise of love (hard to find) i thought I figured out where this album was going, but I was wrong, and I'm disappointed. I'm only giving it 6 out of 10 because I'm a big fan, and I really like the song Hard to Find.

Discuss this album in our forums

Return to top of page

Promise Of Love by American Analog Set

Promise Of Love
by American Analog Set