In 2024 the prolific New York artist Nate Amos released his label debut Box for Buddy, Box for Star under his solo moniker This Is Lorelei. The record was critically acclaimed and received year end accolades from Rolling Stone, Billboard, GQ, Pitchfork, Stereogum, The FADER, Paste, but the album and Amos’ star has continued on an unrelenting rise.
The last year saw him release a breakthrough record with his band Water From Your Eyes, a rerecorded collection of This Is Lorelei songs entitled Holo Boy, and share a slew of collaborations and reimaginings of the Box for Buddy songs, repackaged as a quasi-deluxe release that included MJ Lenderman, Snail Mail and Amos’ father and sister, Bob & Sarah Amos.
The songs on Box for Buddy have continued to resonate, appearing in headlines and grainy live videos as artists like Waxahatchee and Cameron Winter cover them, incorporating Amos’ songs into their own setlists. It seemed only logical then that the entirety of Box for Buddy should receive this reimagining, pulling together a constellation of Amos’ friends, family and peers to cover and collaborate on the full tracklist.
Out on April 17th, the Box for Buddy, Box for Star Super Deluxe features fully reimagined versions of every song from Amos’ breakout LP; a hushed and glitchy take from Hayley Williams and her close collaborator Daniel James from their new project Power Snatch, a sweeping ballad from SASAMI, and pure guitar euphoria from Momma. An unexpectedly great pairing between Jeff Tweedy and longtime Amos collaborators fantasy of a broken heart is among the other treasures contained on this singular collection, which also features outsider pop auteur LUCY (Cooper B Handy), multihyphenate Tim Heidecker, and the long awaited studio version of Waxahatchee’s take on “Where’s Your Love Now.”
Almost two years on from its initial release, Box for Buddy, Box for Star has steadily grown from a fan favorite into a verified cult classic, with anticipation for Amos’ proper follow up running at an all time high.
@ (pronounced “At”) is the folk-pop project of vocalist/guitarist Victoria Rose and multi-instrumentalist Stone Filipczak, who owe their musical bond to the power of text messages. Although the pair initially met years ago, it wasn’t until spring 2020 when they began sending each other music between their respective cities — Rose based in Philadelphia and Filipczak in Baltimore. A few exchanges down the line, Rose sent Filipczak an early recording of a song she’d written called “Star Game” asking him to contribute drums. She didn’t anticipate what he returned to her: “I didn’t like it at first. It felt jarring to hear my music so arranged,” she says. “I almost plotted to end the collaboration.” But it wasn’t long before she came around to the potential of what she and Filipczak could create together.
Filipczak’s version of “Star Game” wound up being the second track on @’s debut album Mind Palace Music, initially released in April 2021. Rose admits that she didn’t even think her bandmate would ever want to work with her in a formal capacity, given Filipczak’s niche background sharing bills with artists like Black Pus (Lightning Bolt drummer Brian Chippendale) and Guerrilla Toss. But with his keen, inventive ear for musicianship and Rose’s penchant for confessional lyrics and vibrant melodies, @ grew as an amalgam of their unique musical backgrounds and complementary strengths. In their review of the album, Pitchfork would go on to say “Mind Palace Music is an example of what happens when you take a poignant songwriter who’s careful about her chord progressions and introduce a fellow songwriter who knows the magic of no-frills arrangements.”
After the album’s release, @ received well-deserved recognition from Pitchfork, Stereogum, The Fader and many more and became an in-demand live act. Fortunately for fans, @ didn’t wait too long before working on new music. On January 12th, 2024, they released their new EP Are You There God? It’s Me, @. Diverting from their usual acoustic instrumentation, @ go soul-searching on a sonic side quest into more electronic music.