Set You Free is the second and final album by punk rock band

Chisel A chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge (such that wood chisels have lent part of their name to a particular grind) of blade on its end, for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal by hand, s ...

originally released on June 6, 1997 on

Gern Blandsten Records Gern Blandsten Records is an independent record label based in Paramus, New Jersey. The label's acts have included The World/Inferno Friendship Society, Canyon, Chisel, the Van Pelt, Radio 4, The Flesh, Weston, Native Nod and Rye Coalition. Gern ...

. In 2023, a remastered and expanded edition was released by

The Numero Group The Numero Group is an archival record label that creates compilations of previously released music, reissues original albums, and creates album reconstructions from a variety of musical genres. The label, known as Numero, was founded in 2003 b ...

Background

Chisel was formed in 1990 by guitarist/vocalist

Ted Leo Theodore Francis Leo is an American singer and musician. He is the frontman and lead guitarist of the rock group Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and in 2013, he and Aimee Mann formed the indie rock duo The Both. Early life Born in South Bend, In ...

, bassist Chris Infante, and drummer John Dugan. The band originally came from

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

, but moved to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in 1994. The band released several singles, eventually releasing the ''Nothing New'' compilation in 1995. After ''Nothing New'''s release, Infante left the group and was replaced by Chris Norborg. It was followed up by their second album, ''8 A.M. All Day'', in 1996.

Recording

The album was recorded by Nicolas Vernhes at the Rare Book Room in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behi ...

for ten days between October and November of 1996. The recording saw the expansion of the band's sonic level, with incorporations of horns, a

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs ...

, and influences from

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...

. Some songs also saw the band strip back their sound to a minimalist sound to give Leo's darker lyrics to the forefront of the sound. Other songs saw Norborg and Dugan writing songs for the band, which Leo had only done in the past.

Release and promotion

After the release of the album, Chisel went on a US tour with

Karate (; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fuj ...

. During the tour, the band, especially Leo, were contemplating the future of the band. The last show of the tour on May 16, 1997 in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state ...

ended up being Chisel's final show, calling it quits on the drive home from the concert. In 2022, The Numero Group announced they were reissuing and remastering the band's discography, with an expanded version of ''Set You Free'' planned for a release in early 2023. The reissue, which included remastered version of the original album's tracks, included four alternate takes and versions of songs on the album, as well as the non-album single "The Guns of Meridian Hill".

Reception

A review by Sheril Stanford in Lollipop Magazine in 1997 gave a negative review of the album, saying that "stealing is clearly a main part of Chisel's repertoire", likening "Morley Timmons" to a ''

Help! ''Help!'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles and the soundtrack to their film of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the singles "Help!" and " Ticket to Ride", ap ...

''-era Beatles song and "An Amateur Thief" to sounding like a combination of

The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...

and

The Raspberries The Raspberries were an American pop rock band formed in 1970 from Cleveland, Ohio. They had a run of success in the early 1970s music scene with their pop rock sound, which AllMusic later described as featuring "exquisitely crafted melodies and ...

. AllMusic reviewer Brian Raftery called the album "an overlooked and underrated gem" and gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars. Scott Gordon of

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cr ...

called the album in a retrospective review in 2007 "more focused and patient" compared to ''8 A.M. All Day''. MrHipster called the album in 2015 an "entire album of awesome new wave nd mod rock". Magnet Magazine called the album "a sprawling power pop masterpiece".

Track listing

2023 deluxe edition bonus tracks

Personnel

Derived from the liner notes. * Ted Leo - guitar, vocals, writer * Chris Norborg - bass, writer * John Dugan - drums, writer, design * Anthony Rossomando - trumpet, horn * Greg DiCrosta - trombone * B.J. Warshaw - saxophone * Nicolas Vernhes - recording engineer * Alan Douches - mastering engineer * Darrow Montgomery - photography * Chris Leo - vocals, noise (track 2) * Amy Leo - vocals, noise (track 2) * Neil O'Brien - vocals, percussion (track 9)

2023 deluxe edition

* Alap Mornin - recording engineer (track 20) * Rob Christiansen - recording engineer (track 22) * Adam Luksetich, Rob Sevier, Ken Shipley - reissue producer * Jeff Lipton, Maria Rice - remastering engineer * D. Norsen - design * Finn Cohen - editing * Pat Graham - photography * John Davis - photography * Mandy Berry Carter - photography * Brian Liu - photography * Joan Dugan - photography * Tom Rosinski - photography * Jes Skolnik - liner notes

References

{{Reflist 1997 albums Power pop albums Power pop albums by American artists Punk rock albums Punk rock albums by American artists Gern Blandsten Records albums The Numero Group albums