Aaron Nathans & Michael G. Ronstadt

Aaron Nathans’ latest EP may be about mortality, but that doesn’t mean it lacks a sense of humor. Nathans, who will celebrate the release of Alchemy of Memory at Bryn Mawr’s Milkboy Coffee tomorrow, writes acoustic tunes that blend clever lyrics with folk-pop melodies that often belie the songs’ more serious themes. The new, self-released record — “a do-it-yourself from start to finish,” Nathans says — touches repeatedly on the topic of memory. Deceptively lighthearted premises serve as jumping-off points for addressing more weighty themes.

“My four-year-old daughter,” for example, “loves” the album’s leadoff track, the singer-songwriter tells me. But the song, in which the narrator is “reincarnated as his own granddaughter,” is at its heart about lost things, Nathans says. Another track, “Everything You See Is Who I Am,” is on its surface an amusing number about messiness — but the messes we make are rife with distinct memories. “Green Song,” meanwhile, addresses the collective memory that goes into songwriting. “Everybody has their influences,” Nathans says, so really there’s “no such thing as a new song.”

Nathans was this year one of 32 musicians chosen out of 800 entrants to play in the Kerrville Folk Festival’s New Folk competition. With his performance, he followed in the footsteps of Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle, and Lucinda Williams, all of whose careers were spurred by the competition. The CD release party, however, will see him in a much more intimate setting: the Bryn Mawr Milkboy is a small coffee shop with a stage but no sound system. The show will thus be truly acoustic.

Nathans is joined on the bill by the Ronstadt Generations, a southwestern family band featuring an array of instruments (and yes, they’re closely related to Linda). Members will also back Nathans’ voice and guitar on a few tunes.

Friday, July 15, 7:30 p.m., $10 suggested donation, with Ronstadt Generations, Milkboy Coffee, 824 W. Lancaster Ave, Bryn Mawr, 610-527-0690, aaronnathans.com.

(matt.cantor@citypaper.net) - Philadelphia CityPaper

Aaron Nathans’ latest EP may be about mortality, but that doesn’t mean it lacks a sense of humor. Nathans, who will celebrate the release of Alchemy of Memory at Bryn Mawr’s Milkboy Coffee tomorrow, writes acoustic tunes that blend clever lyrics with folk-pop melodies that often belie the songs’ more serious themes. The new, self-released record — “a do-it-yourself from start to finish,” Nathans says — touches repeatedly on the topic of memory. Deceptively lighthearted premises serve as jumping-off points for addressing more weighty themes.

“My four-year-old daughter,” for example, “loves” the album’s leadoff track, the singer-songwriter tells me. But the song, in which the narrator is “reincarnated as his own granddaughter,” is at its heart about lost things, Nathans says. Another track, “Everything You See Is Who I Am,” is on its surface an amusing number about messiness — but the messes we make are rife with distinct memories. “Green Song,” meanwhile, addresses the collective memory that goes into songwriting. “Everybody has their influences,” Nathans says, so really there’s “no such thing as a new song.”

Nathans was this year one of 32 musicians chosen out of 800 entrants to play in the Kerrville Folk Festival’s New Folk competition. With his performance, he followed in the footsteps of Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle, and Lucinda Williams, all of whose careers were spurred by the competition. The CD release party, however, will see him in a much more intimate setting: the Bryn Mawr Milkboy is a small coffee shop with a stage but no sound system. The show will thus be truly acoustic.

Nathans is joined on the bill by the Ronstadt Generations, a southwestern family band featuring an array of instruments (and yes, they’re closely related to Linda). Members will also back Nathans’ voice and guitar on a few tunes.

Friday, July 15, 7:30 p.m., $10 suggested donation, with Ronstadt Generations, Milkboy Coffee, 824 W. Lancaster Ave, Bryn Mawr, 610-527-0690, aaronnathans.com.

(matt.cantor@citypaper.net) - Philadelphia CityPaper

"So you know how I say some songwriters' songs aren't as interesting as they are? Aaron's are exactly as interesting as he is, and that's high praise because he's pretty damn interesting. He never leads me asking, "Why is he a songwriter?" Or "Why did he write that song?" You write a song about grapefruit because you know if you don't nobody else will...Aaron songs are to him what Wise Madness is to me. They get other people to see how his mind works. That's a songwriter I want to hear."

- Gordon Nash/Wise Madness blog

Aaron Nathans emerges from Madison’s music scene as a master melodic storyteller of modern day life, a prominent trait that separates him from the increasingly generic label of “acoustic folk-rock.” This CD shines with life. The cover photo tells most of the story. Aaron’s face glows with the childlike enthusiasm that permeates this collection, a refreshing mix of delicately crafted and wildly enjoyable songs. The outstanding songwriting is the foundation of this project, and the breadth of genres is reminiscent of Cheryl Wheeler. From the Jewish-rock chant of the song "Same Old You" through the alt-country heart of "American West" to the REM-inspired "I Won’t Talk," Aaron takes the listener on an incredible ride around music country. These driving songs are beautifully juxtaposed against the tenderness of "Safe Now" and "Camaguey"... "The Old People’s Fruit" wraps up the ten tracks on this project. This clever number uses the bittersweet quality of grapefruit to humbly comment on the most important things in life. Even more amazing; the first several times I listened to this song end, I could do nothing but leave the CD in the player and let it start all over again...
- The B-Side, the newsletter of the Madison Songwriters Group

Nathans is a guitar-strumming singer-songwriter with a knack for evoking the spirit of the big swath of flyover land between the country's overpopulated coasts. He can be both warm and earnest or ironic and powerfully bittersweet (as he is on the albums catchiest cut, "American West"), and on many tracks he gets excellent support from multi-instrumentalist Bradley Fish, violinist Randy Hoecherl and other Madison-associated players. I'm not sure Nathans' stabs at straightforward political writing on the roots-rock groove "Senator McCain" and the populist's lament "I Remember Howard Dean" will have much of an audience outside of music-loving poli-sci departments and news rooms, but he deserves points for elevating folk-rock above the usual I, me, mine solipsism. In fact, I'd be interested in hearing a full disk of his political material.

- Tom Laskin
- Isthmus, Madison's weekly alternative newspaper

Aaron Nathans emerges from Madison’s music scene as a master melodic storyteller of modern day life, a prominent trait that separates him from the increasingly generic label of “acoustic folk-rock.” This CD shines with life. The cover photo tells most of the story. Aaron’s face glows with the childlike enthusiasm that permeates this collection, a refreshing mix of delicately crafted and wildly enjoyable songs. The outstanding songwriting is the foundation of this project, and the breadth of genres is reminiscent of Cheryl Wheeler. From the Jewish-rock chant of the song "Same Old You" through the alt-country heart of "American West" to the REM-inspired "I Won’t Talk," Aaron takes the listener on an incredible ride around music country. These driving songs are beautifully juxtaposed against the tenderness of "Safe Now" and "Camaguey"... "The Old People’s Fruit" wraps up the ten tracks on this project. This clever number uses the bittersweet quality of grapefruit to humbly comment on the most important things in life. Even more amazing; the first several times I listened to this song end, I could do nothing but leave the CD in the player and let it start all over again...
- The B-Side, the newsletter of the Madison Songwriters Group

Madison journalist and songwriter Aaron Nathans became a man the day he ate his first grapefruit. If you don't believe me, you can hear about it straight from the man himself on his debut studio album, Same Old You. The Warren Zevon-voiced performer emerges with a handful of love songs, a goofy tale about a Jewish heavy-metal fan, and not one, but two songs about ex-Presidential hopefuls.

I have to admit it, this album didn't do much for me on the first listen, but I definately grew to appreciate it once I gave it a few more spins. Nathans is a clever writer and his lyrics are where he shines. Like any good storyteller, his talent is in his ability to instantly impart importance to the simplest of things and to articulate a feeling in only a few words.

"I Remember Howard Dean" is the tongue-in-cheek story of political disillusionment that chronicles the Vermont governor's ill-fated run for the White House, beginning "seven years before the scream" right up until he got that big "chance to blow it." The song was featured on National Public Radio's Open Mic program during election week. John McCain is the subject of another politically minded (and timely) song that features the question "Who was the last president who really was a hero?"

Politics aside, Nathans seems to excel when writing about simpler things and simpler times. From "Good Morning, True North" (one of my favorites) to "American West" (one of his) to summer nights listening to "Indiana Radio" ("Out at the drive-in/Convertable cars/Buddy Holly and the Crickets/Crackling under the stars"), the album seems to travel across the country, taking snapshots along the way.

"Same Old You" reveals Nathans as an artist who is quite happy to try expanding his sound from the traditional acoustic guitar or piano songs that weigh down so many singer-songwriters. Granted, those slow, peaceful songs make up a good portion of this album. On a few occasions, he tries a more powerful, electric sound on for size, most notably on "I Won't Talk." While a little out of place on this particular recording, it's nice to see him showing off his versatility.

Nathans succeeds in capturing some of the positive energy on "Same Old You" that he brings to his live performances. The recording is clean, crisp and beautifully produced and seemingly a labor of love, as more than a few friends jumped onboard to lend their talents to its creation. He sounds like a songwriter who is very comfortable with his craft, but thankfully still seeks that extra push into new musical territory.

- Shelley Peckham - Rick's Cafe (Madison music newspaper)

"As one contestant noted early on in the evening, this started off as a very quiet night. We've had WLSC evenings at Laila where the crowd had to be silenced. Not this time. You could have heard a pin drop. For whatever reason, the silence was almost uncomfortable. The judges must have sensed this as well, because when Aaron Nathans cut through the tension with his humorous "Same Old You," he ripped the evening wide open. This was more than a novelty song; I was transplanted into the middle of a Jewish wedding. I could see that Metallica tattoo. And I laughed along with everyone else." - Ben Krieger, Jezebel Music blogger.
- Williamsburg Live Songwriter Competition

Madison journalist and songwriter Aaron Nathans became a man the day he ate his first grapefruit. If you don't believe me, you can hear about it straight from the man himself on his debut studio album, Same Old You. The Warren Zevon-voiced performer emerges with a handful of love songs, a goofy tale about a Jewish heavy-metal fan, and not one, but two songs about ex-Presidential hopefuls.

I have to admit it, this album didn't do much for me on the first listen, but I definately grew to appreciate it once I gave it a few more spins. Nathans is a clever writer and his lyrics are where he shines. Like any good storyteller, his talent is in his ability to instantly impart importance to the simplest of things and to articulate a feeling in only a few words.

"I Remember Howard Dean" is the tongue-in-cheek story of political disillusionment that chronicles the Vermont governor's ill-fated run for the White House, beginning "seven years before the scream" right up until he got that big "chance to blow it." The song was featured on National Public Radio's Open Mic program during election week. John McCain is the subject of another politically minded (and timely) song that features the question "Who was the last president who really was a hero?"

Politics aside, Nathans seems to excel when writing about simpler things and simpler times. From "Good Morning, True North" (one of my favorites) to "American West" (one of his) to summer nights listening to "Indiana Radio" ("Out at the drive-in/Convertable cars/Buddy Holly and the Crickets/Crackling under the stars"), the album seems to travel across the country, taking snapshots along the way.

"Same Old You" reveals Nathans as an artist who is quite happy to try expanding his sound from the traditional acoustic guitar or piano songs that weigh down so many singer-songwriters. Granted, those slow, peaceful songs make up a good portion of this album. On a few occasions, he tries a more powerful, electric sound on for size, most notably on "I Won't Talk." While a little out of place on this particular recording, it's nice to see him showing off his versatility.

Nathans succeeds in capturing some of the positive energy on "Same Old You" that he brings to his live performances. The recording is clean, crisp and beautifully produced and seemingly a labor of love, as more than a few friends jumped onboard to lend their talents to its creation. He sounds like a songwriter who is very comfortable with his craft, but thankfully still seeks that extra push into new musical territory.

- Shelley Peckham - Rick's Cafe (Madison music newspaper)