American Motors Premiere Their Post-Rocking Single “3 Crosses”

Post-rock is one of those subgenres you probably can’t describe but know when you hear it, like with American Motors. The recently formed band premieres their new single “3 Crosses” and its accompanying lyric video. The song is from the band’s upcoming eight-song debut LP Content.

“3 Crosses” flashes with all kinds of influences from many generations of rock and punk music. The lyric video emphasizes the classic influences in the band’s sound with its Windows 95 backdrop. If you’re old enough, the clip will give you some fond, or maybe not so fond, memories of your computing days as a child.

Discussing the inspirations behind the song and its musical elements, the band states:

“If you grew up in Appalachia chances are you know Coffindaffer Crosses, even if you don’t know them by name. In West Virginia, they are even more prevalent as they litter the landscape along I-79 and I-64 and the hillsides that lead to those ‘great roads.’ Most are languishing. The paint is chipping away. Weeds have started to engulf them. The land is reclaiming them. When I was kid they were in much better shape. There were some that overlooked my cousins’ house atop a hill in Sissonville. They always looked super ominous to me. Right across the street from my cousins’ house was a school that was the location of a fairly notorious piece of ’80s ‘Satanic Panic’ wildness, which happened in the shadow of the same set of Coffindaffer Crosses.

“For roughly three minutes the bass hits technically only one note. Over and over. An exercise in repetition. It’s a weird physical challenge to do despite sounding insanely simple. It becomes almost a mantra with the drums working in lockstep. Eventually, everything explodes for some release before returning to that original mantra. I feel like this is one of the songs where we managed to really achieve the thesis of “brutal rhythm section plus textures” and the nod to minimalism is apparent.”

American Motors was only just formed last year. In that short time, they have developed a very specific style of post-rock, combining the foundations of punk, post-punk, shoegaze, and indie rock. They are primarily led by the duo of Dustin White and Alex Steward, two well-traveled musicians who have put their time in. They have composed long resumes along the way, travelling coast to coast, all in pursuit of their personal post-rock glory.

When they first met in Austin, White and Steward had a near-instant connection. Living in what was now a post-pandemic world, they agreed that they wanted to make more meaningful “physical” music. Physical in the sense of something you can really sink your teeth into, musicians who really engage with their instruments, hitting them hard and with authority. There’s an enormity to their sound but also a minimalism in play that helps create that vintage vibe. American Motors isn’t out to revolutionize post-rock. They’d rather recompose it into something they view as worthwhile.

American Motors ‘Content’ album artwork

Content Track Listing:

1. Colonial Lanes
2. (A Billboard Reading) Dissolve Jefferson
3. Tamarack
4. Three Crosses
5. The Former Mall Anchor Store Call Center Blues
6. A Half Finished Wall Of Glass Blocks
7. There Is A Twin
8. Statues

Tour Dates:

10/06 – Pittsburgh, PA – Government Center
10/07 – Tiffin, OH – Under The Surface
10/08 – Chicago, IL – Illuminated Brew Works
10/09 – Louisville, KY – Magbar
10/10 – Columbus, OH – Cafe Bourbon St
10/11 – Cleveland, OH – The Little Rose Tavern
10/12 – Dunbar, WV – Live At The Shop