Austin, Tex., trio Subset tightens the screws on its indie-rock songs to make sure they stay as firm and secure as possible. There's an emotional depth hidden under the catchy melodies that sounds like it's aching to break the locks and be heard.
With comparisons ranging from Spoon to the Beach Boys to Jets To Brazil, Subset's well-crafted songs are both catchy and poignant. While main vocalist Lindsey Simon's (guitar, bass) intelligent lyrics are often touching, Nathan Fish's (bass, guitar) songs display an almost tortured emotional depth.
Friends since highschool and bandmates since college, Fish and Simon formed Subset in Austin, Texas, in February of 1999. Soon after, Subset released their first 7inch single, Circuitis. At the Circuitis release show former Silver Scooter drummer, Tom Hudson, asked to join the band. In June of 2000, Post Parlo released Subset¹s first LP, Overpass. Following some encouraging CMJ charting on airwaves across the country, Subset supported the first album playing shows around Texas with the likes of Spoon, Solex, and the Rock*A*Teens as well as the CMJ Music Festival and SXSW.
In 2001, Subset brought a whole new group of songs to producer John Croslin (the Reivers, Mates of State, Guided By Voices), ready for recording at Porchlight in the fall of 2001. These recordings turned into Dueling Devotions, Subset's best studio work to date, merging their talent for writing catchy pop songs with the ability to define their own unique sound. Hook-laden rock songs are intertwined with contemplative mid-tempo arrangements that evoke emotion without using the first three nasty letters. With Dueling Devotions, Subset ride the tenuous line of writing catchy, intelligent pop songs without resorting to the emotional bleeting or lyrical patronization that is so prevalent in the genre.