Empty Set

Jul 8

A couple of weeks ago our friend Natalie asked if Empty Set would like to play at a gig she was putting on at her house by the canal in Manchester. Of course we said Yes!

Tommy much enjoyed watching Jam on Bread, King of Cats and Atomic Soda, then played a few songs on Jam on Bread’s ukulele.

It was great fun, and so many people turned up we couldn’t fit them all in the garden. Resourcefully, they watched from over the fence by the canal. Lovely times. Thanks Natalie!

Jan 13

As Neat As A New Pin Sleeve

A photoset of the sleeve and CD artwork for our debut recording As Neat As A New Pin. Illustration was by our talented friend Benjamin Dorning. Tommy designed and typeset.

KVRX Radio Austin Interview

Tommy gives an interview to the ‘She Blinded Me With Science’ show on KVRX Radio Austin, Texas, in May 2009. DJs Adriana et al. ask Tommy about such things as why he wrote a song about Évariste Galois.

Thanks kindly Adriana and KVRX!

Pagan Wanderer Lu Best Of 2009

Empty Set really, really love Pagan Wanderer Lu’s music, so we’re honoured to get a mention in his ‘Top Albums of 2009’.

Thanks PWL!

Going Steady With Life But Never Making Out Best Of 2009

Roy includes As Neat As A New Pin in his ‘Top Albums Of 2009’. From his other picks he clearly has excellent taste so we’re sincerely flattered.

These guys are a guilty pleasure of mine. I’m a huge fan of that genre deridingly known as “twee pop,” as probably best demonstrated by auteurs Belle and Sebastian. The Emptyset filled my twee pop fix this year, as B&S’s “project” God Help the Girl sorely disappointed me. The Emptyset are perfect for those dateless weekends when feeling sorry for yourself is cathartic rather than pathetic.

Thanks Roy!

Cargo Records Best Of 2009

Our thanks to James at Cargo Records, who included us in their ‘Staff Picks 2009’ review.

Weep in to your pint music.

Perfect! Thanks James!

BBC Manchester Review

Chris Long reviews As Neat As A New Pin for BBC Manchester Introducing.

‘Empty Set write tender love songs set against a backdrop of musical gentility, which make up the duo’s sweet debut, As Neat As A New Pin. The topics of their songs include physics, bad handwriting, Canadian journalists and French mathematicians. Impressively, such oddities are not forced in for effect, as the topics weave so easily in with the sparing accompaniments that you just know that they’re there because it’s just how songwriter Tommy Ogden thinks. Of course, decent lyrics are only one half of any musical battle and thankfully they come supported by satisfying, if occasionally over-sparse, little melodies to make songs as neat and tidy as the album title suggests.’

Thanks Chris!

Dan and Tommy perform ‘My Girl’s On The Other Side Of The World’ while punting down the River Cherwell in Oxford.

Filmed by our friend Jim, who notes,

These geeky kids may not be great at steering a boat but they sure write a good pop song.

Thanks Jim!

And as the comment recommends, check out the synchronised glasses-nudge by Dan, Tommy and punter Paul at the end. Probably couldn’t do it again if we tried.

Eardrums Best Of 2009

Knut included As Neat As A New Pin in a ‘Best of June & July 2009’ for Eardrums Music.

Thanks Knut!

LimeWire Store Review

Al reviews As Neat As A New Pin for the LimeWire Store.

This duo delivers quirky rock in spades. It’s mostly done with preciously clever irony, dramatic crescendos, and stringed instruments, although the unexpected bass synth on “Portia I Dreamt You Were A Princess” is definitely a high point. Playing off elaborate chimes, this singular synth is not only a welcome relief after an album of violins and meticulously produced acoustics. It’s also nice that, after an album of constantly reminding the listener they’re joking, the Empty Set actually make a joke.

I’m not sure if we were joking. Is it good to be joking? If it is, I was definitely joking.

Thanks Al!

The Line Of Best Fit Preview

Tom Whyman had us down as Ones To Watch for 2009.

Tommy Ogden’s science textbookworm-y Magnetic Fieldsianisms are the stuff of songwriting magic.

Thanks Tom!

The Line Of Best Fit Review

Tom Whyman gives As Neat As A New Pin 88% in his review for The Line Of Best Fit. Wow, that’s a lot of percents!

You might be thinking by now that the Empty Set have it all. And you’d be right, they do. So you have no excuse whatsoever for not listening to their music.

Thanks Tom!

BBC Manchester Introducing Radio Interview

Dan and Tommy were interviewed by Sam Walker for BBC Manchester Introducing in June 2009.

We performed ‘Your Hayfever’ and ‘Portia, I Dreamt You Were Real’ live in the studio, and nattered about our influences and why we write songs about science.

Thanks Sam!

Die Shellsuit, Die! Review

David Pott-Negrine gives As Neat As A New Pin ‘7 out of 10’ in Die Shellsuit, Die!

‘It is between these two points that As Neat As A New Pin exists; sometimes it behaves as a typical folk album, all soft vocals and delicate ukuele, other times it veers off into a soundtrack of tape loops and droning strings. It’s this willingness to experiment, coupled with a lyrical slant as concerned with science and mathematics as it is with unrequited love, that makes Empty Set more than just another twee, folk outfit.’

Thanks David!

Song, By Toad Review

Matthew reviews As Neat As A New Pin for Song, By Toad.

‘The album might take a little time to sink in. The pace varies subtley, from the jaunty pleasures of Alice & Bob, to the more moody, and rather surprising, version of Some Candy Talking. These ups and downs are quite gentle though, so it would be easy to allow the noise of life around you to overwhelm this album when you play it. I would be careful not to let that happen though, because it really is worth the attention if you sit down and really listen to it. It’s a total curve ball from Tough Love, and an absolute corker.’

Thanks Matthew!