Faced with the task of following up the previous year's
8 A.M. All Day -- an album which generated major buzz in the indie community --
Chisel came up with
Set You Free, the best effort of a career that ended shortly after its release. Each of the album's 17 tracks is indispensable, from the surprisingly melodic repetition of the music-scene critique
"On Warmer Music" to the slow meditation of
"The Last Good Time." In between, the group builds upon its
pop skills to include horns (
"The Unthinkable Is True") and keyboard (
"In Our Time"), without them ever being intrusive. An overlooked and underrated gem. ~ Brian Raftery