Michael Nau

Michael Nau is your favorite bands favorite songwriter. Since the mid 2000s, hes crafted a catalog of thoughtful, reflective songs as the frontman of indie-rock mainstays Cotton Jones, Page France, and Michael Nau s set to release the fifth full-length record under his own name. Accompany is due out 12/08/2023 on Karma Chief Records.All 11 tracks come together to paint a beautiful picture. The lyrics invoke the listeners imagination throughout. Theyre 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. Sweeping string arrangements and French horn runs add cinematic motion to the waltz-y Shiftshaping (track 4). Slide guitar and a shuffling snare drum add some get-up-and-go to Painting a Wall (track 2). Naus vocal delivery falls somewhere between crooning to a crowd, telling stories to a loved one, and musing to himself.The singer-songwriters 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. For the first time in a while, Michael had some sessions on the calendar. He called a few old friends and put together a band. I didnt have much of a plan before Adrien reached out, so I wrote some songs specifically for the session, Michael explained. I was thinking about what would be fun to play with this specific group of guys.The band consisted of several long-time collaborators and musicians who had participated in Naus various recording and touring efforts over the years. It had been a while since Id made music in a room with other people, Michael shared. We just sort of started playing and didnt really talk about what was happening. The combos newfound chemistry was a primary source of inspiration and, with the help of Olsen, ultimately led to an albums-worth of music.