ON REPEAT: THIS IS LORELEI

By Meredith Mattlin

Box for Buddy, Box for Star by This Is Lorelei

I first heard about This is Lorelei, the DIY-indie-pop brainchild of Nate Amos, at SXSW 2024. The anthemic track “Dancing in the Club,” a blissful four-and-a-half minutes of layered beats, upbeat keys, and pop appeal, rattled in my head for months. But when This is Lorelei released Box for Buddy, Box for Star in June, I neglected to give it a proper listen until a half-year later, when I downloaded it on a whim before a cross-country flight. I downright devoured it, and have had many of the songs on repeat since. Listening to this made me almost forget that I was cramped into a coach middle seat for five-and-a-half hours between New York and Seattle. I don’t say this often, but Box for Buddy, Box for Star is truly a no-skip album.

The first track, “Angel Eyes,” is an earnest, straightforward Americana ballad, and the album closes with the similarly acoustic-guitar-forward “An Extra Beat for You and Me.” But the more poppy tracks on the remaining forty minutes are no less heartfelt and sweet than their genuine country counterparts. “I’m All Fucked Up” is simultaneously new and nostalgic, and “Perfect Hand” is a fun bop filled with loops and deadpan “yeahs” punctuating throughout. Amos’ debut album gives the feel of a time machine that takes you back and forward at once—it’s fresh, innovative, and wistful, all without trying too hard.

Alongside Rachel Brown, Amos is one-half of the experimental duo Water From Your Eyes. I saw Water From Your Eyes open for Palm several years ago, and it felt like a preemptive passing of the torch; Palm disbanded shortly after that tour. (I will add, Palm’s disbanding was devastating to me as a longtime fan—I even interviewed them back in 2018 for WRVU Nashville.) While Water From Your Eyes songs feature futuristic, punky, angular loops, This is Lorelei has a more straightforward, indie-pop feel. I hate to use the word “accessible,” because it has connotations that may induce some eye-rolls, but I would argue This is Lorelei has more “driving down the highway” songs than Water From Your Eyes, the latter whose synth-y twists and turns require a few listens to wholly appreciate.

Despite this album being a “debut,” This is Lorelei is a genre-bending project dating back a decade. Amos somehow does it all, from country twang to early-aughts-sentimentalism to bedroom pop, and has used the Lorelei moniker throughout the process. Even though this catch-all project is many years old, Box for Buddy is Amos’ first true, complete “album.”

The drum machine is front and center for This is Lorelei, a staple—but Amos has range: some of his tracks have elements of hyperpop (see the highly autotuned, aforementioned “Dancing in the Club”), and on others (namely, the title track) he echoes Alex G and Elliot Smith. Personal favorites from his earlier albums include “But You Just Woke Me Up,” a bubbly, addictive tune from Move Around as well as the short, jangly, almost Grateful Dead-esque “Fix My Sink” from Money Right Now. In contrast with the autotuning he applies to the recordings, Amos’ vocals are surprisingly stripped-down when he plays live, without much ornamentation. The singer-songwriter vibe is refreshing and honest, much like the album itself. Amos’ previous decade of music—even if some of it is unfinished, not in the form of a complete “albums”—is worth a thorough deep dive as well. But Box for Buddy, Box for Star is a twinkly, cohesive, earnest “debut” that has been enjoying some well-deserved time in the sun.