amosmoses
on
14th May 1999

Have You Ever Experienced The Perfect Noise?




From it's beginnings as a post-grunge and H�skeresque style of music characterized by dissonance, crunch, jangle, and an overwhelming wall of sound�amos moses has steadily evolved its vibration into something not merely innovative, but also unconditionally accessible and palatable.

In a career spanning nearly eight years and four recordings, the band's musical artistry has resided in its ability to create radiant melodies within seemingly instrumental abrasiveness�the aural equivalent of a Bukowski novel. amos moses successfully weds the energy and spirit of punk rock to the passion of historical and reformative rock and roll.

The genesis of the group's distinct sound can be traced to the likes of Sonic Youth, Neil Young, Violent Femmes, Big Star, the Rolling Stones, and the Replacements. An amos moses live show is reminiscent of Soul Asylum during "Hangtime", Dinosaur Jr. before "Where You Been", or even Johnny Cash on a Monday night in 1968. Unique vocals, artistically organic guitars, and Watts-like drums combine to expose the energy and emotion of their unmatchable resonance.

At the nucleus of amos moses is songwriter/vocalist/bassist Tom Young, who for over half of his life has been making, playing and living brilliant music. After grinding his skills in the Imposters, he ventured to Milwaukee to give birth to the now-legendary Joker's Henchmen, a manic-depressive funk band of extreme intensity and absolute furor. After some regional success and a few near death experiences, he returned to Indiana where he and extraordinaire guitarist/brother, Tim, reluctantly and unknowingly created amos moses through a mammoth deluge of original songs. Drummer Don Barrett joined the band in early 1993 and began adapting his classical percussion training in order to become the fuel and stabilizing element of the ensemble.

Though undeniably adventurous, amos moses' first album "Misled By The Sign" (the first and last album on Don't Records) was essentially an apprentice work that employed an overall live and loose feel that was captured with a mere eight tracks, a few hundred bucks, and an incredible enthusiasm for low-fi. Next came "Osmoses", a five-song EP that introduced new life and was evidence of the band's ability to weave their noise into accessible songs (IRS became interested and then folded...luck of the moses). 1997 brought "Transition House", a 14-song compositional revelation. The budget was bigger, the studio was better, and the result became inspiration to listen to the first record and find contentment and validation.

Like many visionary forces before them, amos moses will continue to make and play music because they love what they do and they embrace progression. Their songs will continue to be inventive and sincere. 1999 will introduce a new album and a strengthened and ignited band. The world will continue to spin around and if it catches on to what they're doing then that's a great thing. Like Keith Richards said, "Once you spot something, you grab a hold of it and say, 'let's see where this thing goes.'" Really, there's no grand strategy.