An interview with Amos the Transparent

[Ross MacDonald was our correspondent for this one. – AC]

Before the show, AJMT got a heads up that Ottawa’s indie alt-rockers Amos The Transparent were going to be releasing a new album soon, so we sat down with the band in Neat Coffee Shop’s green room and caught up with them.

AJMT: Several years ago, you guys pretty well had called it quits. Was it because of the pandemic or other circumstances?

Jonathan: We were sitting in this room and having these conversations. It was 100% in a rut. Completely dissatisfied with where we were musically. Not that I’m not happy for anybody, but seeing so many others succeed and putting in so much less time. I think I was just at the point where what are we going to do? Make another record and then play again at Neat? And then make another record and play at Neat? And I just thought, what’s the point? And nobody was supportive of my decision at the time. And then we sat down, and I think it might have been Dan who said: “well what else are you going to do?” I’m like, touché. All right. That’s it!

AJMT: What changed?

Jonathan: So, yeah, I think it was during that time, I was able to step back and actually imagine what it would be like not seeing these guys all the time. And that reality wasn’t really something that [I wanted]. And the added stress of the pandemic didn’t help.

AJMT: I remember you guys playing behind the big plexiglass screens.

Jonathan: It’s pretty remarkable to think back what we all accomplished and the ways we figured out how to do it. How grocery stores figured out how to operate during this, with having hundreds or thousands of people in and out. Yeah, it’s pretty remarkable to look back and think that we actually lived through that.

AJMT: Is your lineup the same? I’m not talking about Len because I know she stood back a bit during the pandemic. Didn’t you have another guitarist that came in for a bit?

Dan: We had Blair [Hogan] in for a few shows, he’s been a friend, someone that we went to high school with. So it was a nice way to kind of fill things out, all these lines that are on the record that we liked to have, but not permanent in every show. But for certain shows it worked really well having him around, picking things up.

Jonathan: For a while we did have three guitars. Mark [Hyne], who sang ‘Greater Than Consequence’ on that record, he was in the band until we started recording ‘This Cold Escape’, or almost till we finished writing it. So we had the three guitars for a long time.

AJMT: Okay, so new album. Has it been officially released yet?

Jonathan: No.

AJMT: Is there a release date?

Jonathan: Probably late fall. We’ll release two tunes probably in the next couple of weeks. And then, depending on how soon that happens, maybe one a month leading up to December. And then in December we’ll release the album.

AJMT: Are you going to be playing some of the new album tonight?

Jonathan: We’re gonna be playing 90%.

Dan: Yeah, most of the new record.

AJOMT: What is the name of your first single?

Jonathan: We are going to put out two: ‘You Call Them Your Best Friends’, which we have been playing for a long time, and a song called ‘Steady Light’.

AJMT: Are you going to have an album release party?

Jonathan: Yeah, I think we are going to make it at the Christmas show at Club SAW.

AJMT: What is your writing process like?

Jonathan: With this [upcoming] album in particular, to touch back on the whole “quitting the band and being in a rut”, a lot of this is retrospective of that and coming out from that [rut], and many times putting myself back in that space.
Yes, I write the lyrics.

Dan: He brings a good skeleton of everything to practise. There is usually a structure and chord progression, or at least melodies. And then we all do our part adding to it. And Jon will figure out the direction and solidify lyrics, or change some of it.

Jonathan: A lot of the lyrics aren’t solidified until recording; I’m never satisfied with them. Writing for me is never chords or lyrics first. Sometimes there is a lyric and I write it down and I’ll go back to it much later. Most of the time it is sitting and playing for something to come out.
I try to write something every time I sit down just as a practice; but they aren’t always worth keeping.

AJMT: What’s next?

Jonathan: There are tonnes of plans, and it is hard to pinpoint exactly what we’re going to do because there are six of us, and where we are in life. We are not going to get up and go on tour for a month. What we do really well is play local shows [and festivals]. We are not going to go broke and live in a van like we did before. There are already plans for the next two recording projects.

And after the interview AJOMT headed out of the green room, giving the band some time for final preparations for their show.

About half an hour later the band, all six members, filed down and through the crowd and onto Neat’s small raised stage. Christopher Wilson on drums and Mike Yates on cello / keys were tucked in the back by the speaker cabinets.

The band opened with one of the new singles ‘Steady Light’. In fact, the first three songs were all off the upcoming album. The new songs definitely have a more rock feel than the previous album. The band is definitely punching their way out of their “rut”.

In a change-up, new song ‘Die On This Hill’ started with just the rhythm section of James on bass and Christopher on drums. Then Jonathan started singing, then the rest of the band joined in.

Another new song ‘Anywhere But Your Side’, was channeling some Pixies vibes with soft-loud-soft, and Dan’s guitar work was as strong as Joey Santiago’s. At the end James added: “that was some of the best air drumming I’ve ever seen.”

Towards the end of their first set Jonathan joked that after the break they will throw away their setlist and pull songs from a hat. And that is exactly what they did. They grabbed an orange Live 88.5 touque and the first song was ‘Faded Blue Ink’.

The next person pulled out a new song ‘You’ll Feel Much Better’, which again had a throwback vibe to early 90s rock. Notably the song had a guitar solo where Dan let loose on some great guitar effects. Amos The Transparent’s new album promises to offer a resurgence in rock, perhaps we are seeing a post-post-grunge genre surfacing.

This new music has definitely reinvigorated the band. They all looked like they loved being on stage, smiling, and joking between songs. Again, it is a far cry from the “rut” of a few years ago.

And Neat is a perfect venue for the band. It offers an intimate experience where the audience can casually interact with the band between songs. On fan favourite ‘I Saw A Ghost’, Christopher started the song on an electronic drum with lots of reverb. This song went on to showcase Jonathan and Len’s harmonies.

The band also did a phenomenal rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rhiannon’, with Len’s strong vocals on the verses with Jonathan joining in for some beautiful harmonies on the choruses.

It is nearly impossible for bands to gracefully exit the stage at Neat after a set, so Jonathan proclaimed “We all need to do our part to end encore culture!” and true to their word the band stayed put and banged out a couple of more. They closed the night with the title track off the upcoming album ‘Everywhere All The Time’.

Judging by the reception of the audience, Amos The Transparent’s upcoming album promises to be a big success.

Jonathan Chandler – vocals, guitar
Olenka Reshitnyk – vocals, percussion
Dan Hay – lead guitar, backing vocals
James Nicol – bass, backing vocals
Christopher Wilson – drums, percussion
Mike Yates – cello, keys, percussion, backing vocals