Album Notes

"Armed with enough spooky tremolo-guitar effects and slinky maracas to put Friends of Dean Martinez out of business, this NYC-area trio provides the soundtrack for a burning cantina. Think of Joss as Yo La Tengo's evil cowpoke twin, with Ambrose Liu singing in a flatter-than-Ira monotone and sculpting menacing guitar epics."
-MAGNET Magazine

"Moody musical misfits along the lines of Idaho, The Handsome Family, Sparklehorse ...echoing, tremolo-laden, rainy day musical meanders that deserve a national audience."
-THE AQUARIAN WEEKLY

If Not For the Hovering… is a sprawling ten song journey populated with eerie narratives of stark lyricism. Guitarist/vocalist Ambrose Liu, drummer Christopher O’Donovan (formerly of Wild Carnation, Speed the Plough) and bassist/vocalist Michael Pasuit evoke alt-rock stalwarts such as the Church, Tom Verlaine and Pinetop Seven while carving out a cinematic sound all of their own. Guitar lines shimmer and meander through moody beats echoing strange prophecies – that is the essence of JOSS’ new record.

If Not For the Hovering… reflects a myriad of art-rock influences from sparse drum & bass to gothic blues to spaghetti westerns, but these seemingly disparate styles gel into the cohesive and atmospheric sound that is JOSS.

Whether it is a tremolo-trenched, Tom Waits-ian dirge or a noisy, three-minute workout led by a frustrated guitar, everything falls into its right place.

Jack Rabid of The Big Takeover raves that “smooth laid back lounge shadows slide out velvet from this trio with a little bit of Twin Peaks in the mood… feels so Dream Syndicate… I feel like I should either be listening to this album on headphones while riding on a Greyhound towards Louisiana sometime after midnight, or sitting in a dark bar smoking a cigarette and nursing a scotch, eyeing the long black-haired girl in the corner booth as this band plays low and slow on a dimly lit red light stage. ”