RIYL: Holy Hive, Dream Sitch, Reverend Baron, Whitney, Damien Jurado, Kevin Morby, Cotton Jones, Cut Worms. Michael Nau is set to release his fifth full length record under Karma Chief Records on Dec 8th. All 11 tracks come together to paint a beautiful picture. The lyrics invoke the listener’s imagination throughout. They’re introspective, but vague and open-ended. The indie rock backdrop shows signs of psych-soul influence with dry and punchy drums, lush synth lines, and tastefully verb-soaked vocal production. Nau’s vocal delivery falls somewhere between crooning to a crowd, telling stories to a loved one, and musing to himself. The singer-songwriter’s relaxed attitude toward making records is discernible in the sound. A while back, veteran producer and engineer Adrien Olsen (The Killers, Lucy Dacus, Fruit Bats), approached him about recording in his Richmond, Virginia-based studio. He called a few old friends that consisted of several long-time collaborators and musicians who had participated in Nau’s various recording and touring efforts over the years. Nau and the band spent five days at Montrose Recording and left with a plan to return and finish up a few months later.
“After the first session, I took a copy of the recordings with me to overdub a few things at my spot,” Michael shared. “Then, I dumped the whole thing onto a cassette as one long stream of songs.” With the record mostly complete ,the final session at Montrose would consist of some simple overdubs and finishing touches. But somehow, in the months between, he lost the overdubs. “Going into the second session, all I had was the cassette,” Michael explained. The band got back together and performed another batch of songs. At the end of their second session, they had enough music to pick and choose from for the new full-length. “The songs, as they appear on the album, are basically how they were recorded as a live band.”
“After the first session, I took a copy of the recordings with me to overdub a few things at my spot,” Michael shared. “Then, I dumped the whole thing onto a cassette as one long stream of songs.” With the record mostly complete ,the final session at Montrose would consist of some simple overdubs and finishing touches. But somehow, in the months between, he lost the overdubs. “Going into the second session, all I had was the cassette,” Michael explained. The band got back together and performed another batch of songs. At the end of their second session, they had enough music to pick and choose from for the new full-length. “The songs, as they appear on the album, are basically how they were recorded as a live band.”
STAFF COMMENTS
Barry says: Brittle ballads that are both tenderly delivered and unerringly emotive, with Nau's perfectly reverb-laiden vocal covering it all like a blanket. Mournful in points but always a joy to listen to.TRACK LISTING
1. Sharp Diamonds
2. Painting A Wall
3. Tiny Flakes
4. Shiftshaping
5. And So On
6. One Morning In Vibrato
7. Relearn To Boogie
8. Accompaniment
9. Comes To Pour
10. Long Distance Driver