This Is Lorelei has been one of the most intriguing projects in American indie for over a decade. After years of albums and singles piled on Bandcamp and the acclaimed release of its first official LP, Nate Amos’s alter ego could become the next indie star with his sophomore album. ‘Oh No Now My’ is the Song of the Day.
‘Box For Buddy, Box For Star’ was a breath of fresh air in the North American indie rock scene, with Amos demonstrating a versatility that felt almost out of place, also present in Water From Your Eyes, his side project. That project included both autotune and root-derived Americana, among other guitar experiments, on tracks as immediate as ‘Dancing in the Club’ or ‘Where’s Your Love Now’. Both were re-recorded by MJ Lenderman and Waxahatchee, respectively, for the deluxe edition of the LP.
‘The Singer In My Band’ will be This Is Lorelei’s second official album and will be released on September 11. The record is described by Amos’s father, a bluegrass musician, as his “beatnik on the road” album. This is evident in ‘Billy Came Back’, a first preview set in the country folk realm, but not so much in ‘Oh No Now My’, which is harder to classify.
The riff that opens the song is perpetual, heard throughout the entire track and never breaks the loop. On top of it, Nate Amos sings about his “Joey” while exploring the different meanings and wordplays behind the word “miss”, which can mean to miss someone, to lose something, or to fail. The best part: with very, very little, Amos manages to conjure a melody that’s hard to forget.
