Alex Amen: a musician who gets it

Many years ago, maybe in junior high school, one of my classmates told me he didn’t really like music.

Pardon?

“Yeah, I don’t really listen to music. I just don’t care about it.”

I always knew Nick was an odd cat, but goodness gracious. Can you imagine?

My parents came of age in the ‘70s, so music from their era is what I heard growing up. It’s what I still enjoy today. I didn’t hear much ‘90s and 2000s pop until my school bus route got a new bus with a radio when I was in elementary school. Then I was forced to listen to the dreaded Z96.5 out of Lafayette until I had my first MP3 player.

Now in my 30s, I’ve hoped against hope for years that pop music could be redeemed. I wonder what it was like to be able to flip the dial to WLS when the majority of the music was both fresh and good. Of course, I know there has to be current music out there that’s worth listening to, but it seems like it’s tougher to find.

The YouTube algorithm was kind to me a few weeks ago.

Up pops a music video for a song called “Changes” by a guy named Alex Amen. Being such a Bowie devotee, I assume I’ve stumbled upon yet another cover.

Nope. As it plays, I wonder if this is a guy from the early ‘70s I somehow missed. It looks like it’s filmed on Super 8. The singer sounds like Harry Nilsson or John Denver or Jim Croce. Maybe even Cat Stevens or Todd Rundgren or any of the three guys from America. It’s a mix, man.

In the video, there are modern vehicles on the New York City streets. What’s going on here?

I find Amen’s page on Bandcamp, specifically his debut album Sun of Amen, and listen to all the tracks. They’re all good.

I listen to them all again. They’re all better.

It seems to tell a story of our artist madly in love. The girl decides she’s through. The B side is him dealing with the fallout. There’s genuine depth.

The closing track, “Lonely People,” is killer. I listened to it about a dozen times. What a way to end an album.

 

The cover is gorgeous. The font is ideal. The lyrics are creative – and heavy. The voice is natural and has range. The production is pristine. The music is dripping with talent.

It hits me: Alex Amen is not derivative. Plenty of contemporary musicians attempt the sound that he simply … gets. He gets it, man. You’ll know what I mean when you listen to him.

I think about it (a little) and buy the album, both on record and CD.

 

Look, I can’t say what this means for contemporary music in 2026, but I can say definitively that Alex Amen and the musicians he works with possess the exact degree of talent I’ve been hoping for in contemporary music.

There’s something thrilling about knowing an artist I enjoy is alive right now and making music. Many of the signers and groups I love are either dead or no longer make music. It hurts when another one dies because, to me, there is comfort in knowing the person who wrote and performed a song I enjoy is still walking the earth. Maybe he or she is about to sit down for a meal or watch a show. Human things.

I’m excited for Alex Amen and how he will grow as an artist.

Look him up and buy his music.

Isaac Taylor is one of the owners of the Hamilton County Reporter, as well as the Circulation Director and page designer. You won’t find him anywhere online, so don’t bother looking. However, he welcomes your comments on his columns at ReadTheReporter.com.