29 Mar 2024
UsernamePassword

Remember Me? | Join | Recover
Click here to sign in via social networking

Amos/Anon - Album Review: The Empty Afterwards

13 Jul 2021 // A review by Kev Rowland

Amos/Anon are a Wellington-based project who have been releasing music for more than a decade now. Mind you, if you have not heard of them then that is probably more by design that you may expect, given that on the Bandcamp page it states If you haven't heard of [amos/anon] then the system is working. Go back to sleep. I am sure I have not heard such a self-deprecating artist since Chumbawamba decided to only put negative reviews on their website more than 20 years ago. It is important to understand the thought processes behind this album, which are as follows. The empty afterwards is the moment a song fades away, or the feeling of finishing an album, or what you experience at the moment of death, or the sound of no one listening to a single note you've played, or something else. I put as much effort into writing these songs as people do listening to them. Your perspective will define what that means to you. These songs are bleak, imperfect, passing moments of time, like the person that wrote them. Pointless, and ephemeral. But like you, they are something that has existed.

Musically it hits the themes normally associated with Amos/Anon, namely Gothic and Indie, but while they are indeed both there in abundance, they are not the full picture as there is no doubt that this album contains a great deal of black metal, as well as industrial (thinking here more in the realms of Gridfailure than NIN). The introduction is just that, leading us into Icarus which commences life as a black metal monster before it becomes something even darker as it slows down and becomes almost delicate. There is an additional cymbal on this track outside of those with the drums, and I still cannot make up my mind whether it adds or detracts, as what it does is change the focus and I am sure that is the intent.

There is a real intensity about this album, yet it is also raw, very lo-fi and indie. At times it makes me think of the type of recordings from the early Darkthrone tape years, then at others it is far more polished, and there are some effects and notes which totally change the dynamic. The comment on perspective is an interesting one, as this is something which really does reward those who have an open mind and are willing to walk on a path less travelled, while many others will just not understand what is going on at all.

Throughout the album, the music shifts, and changes, never sticking too long within any particular musical genre, but always with that feeling of bleak depression and loneliness, with vocals that at times can be softly sung and others are shrieked and guttural with sounds that match those the movement. For many this will be a challenging album, yet I found it intriguing and compelling, with the raw production adding a sense of DIY honesty. This is the first I have heard of the band, but with more than 20 releases on Bandcamp I am sure it is not going to be the last.

Rating: ( 3 / 5 )
 

About Amos/Anon

If you haven't heard of Amos/Anon, then everything is fine. The system is working. Keep calm and stop thinking. Close your eyes and let capitalism lull you back into a dreamless slumber.

"...it’s Kiwi from end to end, indie and awesome. The more I listen, the more I want!"

"...unashamedly bolshie and brazen. There is no room for tenderness here."

Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Amos/Anon

Releases

The Empty Afterwards
Year: 2021
Type: Album
V H E M T
Year: 2019
Type: EP
Demos
Year: 2017
Type: Album
Postmortem
Year: 2016
Type: EP
Toil On, Poor Heart
Year: 2016
Type: EP
Anomy
Year: 2015
Type: Album
Gothique Doesn't Exist
Year: 2014
Type: EP
Beneath The Pound Of Flesh
Year: 2014
Type: Album
Thanatos
Year: 2013
Type: Album
Songs of a Tortured Soul
Year: 2012
Type: EP
Demos
Year: 2012
Type: Album
Darkness From Light
Year: 2011
Type: Album
My Schizophrenic Acoustic
Year: 2010
Type: EP
theLachrymist
Year: 2009
Type: Album
Systema
Year: 2008
Type: EP
Gothique
Year: 2007
Type: EP

Other Reviews By Kev Rowland

Gig Review: Crushfest @ The Tuning Fork, Auckland - 07/07/2023
07 Jul 2023 // by Kev Rowland
So it was down to Tuning Fork for the first night of the second Crushfest festival. Tonight was going to be Wellington and Auckland bands, and then some of the same will be playing at the second night in Wellington next month.
Read More...
Rain - Single Review: Love and War
15 Jun 2023 // by Kev Rowland
It has been quite a while since I last heard from Wellington-based singer songwriter Cathy Elizabeth, and back then Rain was seen solely as a studio project with Cathy being accompanied by Thomas Te Taite, who provided all the instrumentation including digital drums. Now they are a full band who have been performing live, and it is the first time they have recorded as such, with Thomas now, just providing acoustic guitar (plus engineering and producing etc.
Read More...
Lost Vessels - Single Review: All This Time
01 Jun 2023 // by Kev Rowland
I must admit I was not that impressed when I first saw Lost Vessels play at Crushfest, something they later admitted to me was the worst gig of their career, but since then they have improved in leaps and bounds. This has been noticed by others on the Auckland circuit as they are getting more opportunities with better support slots, and I was not at all surprised when they won the Ding Dong Lounge Battle Of The Bands in November last year.
Read More...
Unwanted Subject - Single Review: Sons of Savages
28 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
I have caught Unwanted Subject in concert a few times over the last couple of years, and while they have been getting better each time I have seen them, I must admit that nothing prepared me for this, which right from the off is a monster. I have never heard them quite this is aggressive, nor as polished, and this multi-sectioned single sounds almost like a different band as they have pushed their metal roots to the max in this metalcore beast which sees them mixing and blending different genres to create something quite special.
Read More...
Gig Review: Stray Dogs @ AUX, Auckland - 26/05/2023
28 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
So it was back to Ding Dong Lounge on a Friday night for one of their infamous Emo nights, which tonight was a three-band bill with Stray Dogs having an extended set, supported by Altaea and then up first we had Blindr, a band new to me. Blindr are a quartet featuring Bill Caldwell (vocals, guitar), Blake Woodfield (lead guitar), Jack Power (bass), and Charlie McCracken (drums).
Read More...
Gig Review: Turkey The Bird @ The Ministry of Folk, Auckland - 27/05/2023
27 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
Back up to Auckland Guide Centre in Mount Eden tonight for my second consecutive gig (Sol suggested it was a turkey sandwich as I am at Vader tomorrow) to see Taranaki’s finest, Turkey The Bird at The Ministry of Folk. Before that we of course had Hoop, who are Al Baxter (vocals, guitar, harmonica, banjo, mandolin), Nick Edgar (vocals, guitar, ukulele, flute, harmonica), Emily Allen (violin, viola), Glenn Coldham (bass) while tonight Gary Hunt was filling in for drummer Rusty Knox.
Read More...
This Silent Divide - Single Review: Beautiful Creature
25 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
Here we have the latest single from Wellington-based melodic hard rock quartet This Silent Divide, entitled Beautiful Creature. I really enjoyed their Tall Stories EP, and they played a great gig at Dead Witch towards the end of last year, and this would have been recorded at about the same time.
Read More...
Gig Review: Emily Rice @ Your Local Coffee Roasters, Pukekohe - 24/05/2023
24 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
Earlier this week I had a message from Emily Rice asking me if I lived in South Auckland. When I responded I did, she asked if I would be interested in coming along to an event she was putting on in a coffee shop in Pukekohe to celebrate the release of her new single, Warenoa.
Read More...
View All Articles By Kev Rowland

NZ Top 10 Singles

  • WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS (WAIT FOR YOUR LOVE)
    Ariana Grande
  • BEAUTIFUL THINGS
    Benson Boone
  • END OF BEGINNING
    Djo
  • LOSE CONTROL
    Teddy Swims
  • TEXAS HOLD 'EM
    Beyonce
  • STICK SEASON
    Noah Kahan
  • PRAISE JAH IN THE MOONLIGHT
    YG Marley
  • CARNIVAL
    Kanye West And Ty Dolla $ign
  • SATURN
    SZA
  • LOVIN ON ME
    Jack Harlow
View the Full NZ Top 40...
muzic.net.nz Logo
100% New Zealand Music
All content on this website is copyright to muzic.net.nz and other respective rights holders. Redistribution of any material presented here without permission is prohibited.
Report a ProblemReport A Problem