by Sam Cohen (@thevinyljournalist)
Nate Amos spent a decade on Bandcamp before formally launching his solo project, This Is Lorelei. His Double Double Whammy debut in 2024, Box for Buddy, Box for Star, sincere and swift, quickly placed him in high indie rock standing. Like his work in his band Water From Your Eyes, the production and instrumentation came first. There are dazzling autotune dashes (“Dancing in the Club”) and mournful, pop-leaning ballads (“Where’s Your Love Now”). His attention to the Lorelei sound let the lyrics develop naturally. Since then, Amos is synonymous with one thing: being the next 'Great American Songwriter.'
Amos is now an “indie darling” expected to fill a chapter of an eventual 2020s variation on Meet Me In The Bathroom. Luckily, Amos doesn’t crack under pressure. He’s never canceled a gig, and his 2025 record with Water From Your Eyes is their best yet. Plus, if the standard for what makes a good lyricist is whether other artists are fans, he’s got that covered. Earlier this year, a deluxe version of his debut arrived, including covers from Waxahatchee, Jeff Tweedy, and, if you bought the vinyl, a bonus Cameron Winter cover. Musicians, journalists, indie kids, it doesn't matter; they all admire Amos. On his new record, The Singer in My Band, the shadow of his prolific songwriting past looms large.
In May, Amos signed to Matador Records, a few weeks later, he announced his sophomore record. The precedence of Box for Buddy gave TSIMB a sequel feeling; however, this isn't Amos' The Empire Strikes Back. The familiar Lorelei autone is absent, and each track is lyric-heavy. If vocals filled dead air on his debut, TSIMB flips the script, campaigning that his prose is the real deal.
Amos approaches the new material with an earnest confidence that allows for depth. A lyric from “Billy Came Back,” the lead single, reflects the record's ethos: “Without that love, a track is just a track.” The song follows Amos reminiscing about a lost karaoke legend, driven by a nuanced drum and guitar medley. Tracks on TSIMB like “Billy” take up roughly half the record. They’re sonically hopeful, quicker, and a sharpened take on his Bandcamp days. After spending time with the ‘low-tempo’ half of the album, many of which succeed in their subtlety, the speedier tracks like “Oh No Now My,” “Sailing,” and “The Kid With the Crown” stress Amos’ attention on his lyricism. Whether or not these songs match the songwriting epiphanies of Box for Buddy, there is an obvious care, rushed or not, for his craft.
Because of the lyrical focus, the instrumentation and production often feel more important than on Box for Buddy. TSIMB is Amos hunting for a patient twang. “Nitro,” a minute-long jangly country instrumental, echoes the sound he’s searching for. As the riff hushes, a string arrangement enters, leading into the next track, “Hey Sarah Is It Gonna Rain Forever.” Amos faces his youth, questioning Sarah (his sister), “Will we be in pain forever? Will the future hurt? Will the memories cry while the days roll by? Hey, Sarah, could you tell me why?” There is a simple honesty in every Lorelei track. On “Hey Sarah,” Amos’ delivery is bittersweet with a persistent ache.
The Singer in My Band is not indie pop or alt-country; it's a contemporary arrangement of the bluegrass music he grew up around. As a kid, he watched his father, Bob Amos, play in local bluegrass bands in Virginia. Amos' past, whether lyrically or instrumentally, is heavily present on the new record. If Amos hinted at childhood nostalgic sounds with “Angels Eye” and “Two Legs” on Box for Buddy, TSIMB welcomes the spirit of bluegrass in full. The breezy riff on “Watching Heaven Fall” mimics the innocence so many great country songs bear, and the title track is an indie-jamboree around a bonfire.
Ultimately, some tracks on TSIMB, like “Watching Heaven Fall” and “I Will Eat My Heart in the Morning,” solely thrive on the novelty of Lorelei’s bluegrass exploration. What made Box for Buddy so gorgeous and inevitable is that the lyrics weren’t the centerpiece. A song like “Where’s Your Love Now” had an innate tone that made it feel as if the listener were writing the song with Amos. To boot, every piece succeeded in an accomplished groove. It’s simple, Box for Buddy tracks had an authentic Purple Mountains way about them–brutally longing lyrics backed by the liveliest atmosphere.
It's difficult to listen to TSIMB or any of Amos' arrangements without keeping Box for Buddy in mind. Maybe it’s unfair to keep the eminence of his breakthrough in mind with every move he makes, but that’s always the rare shortcoming of a memorable album. Removing each other from the same conversation would be easier if TSIMB marked the efficiency of Box for Buddy. Nevertheless, Amos remains one of rock’s essential young voices, and his days at Matador are only beginning.