teamnels asked: Explain your Tumblr name

The name ‘Nathaniel and the Wolf’ is the name of my musical endeavors, and this tumblr is just a hosting site for the up-to-date news portion of nathanielandthewolf.net, my main web site.

The name evolved out of a story I wrote that will later become my first full-length album, and so i wont delve too deep into the story just yet. I liked the feel and character of the name so well that I decided to make it my artist name, and therefore my tumblr name.

Music in the works…

Hello,

Just a quick update to let everyone (even those who have stumbled here on accident) know that, yes, there is music in the works; more specifically, i have two songs at the point of ‘ready to be recorded’, a third that just needs lyrics, and a formed idea-cloud that looks a bit like the fourth. The EP should be fully audible sometime this summer, so there.

-T

New SoundCloud Account!

Hello again,

I have just signed up for a soundcloud account, for those listening, it will probably be more readily updated than my already existent bandcamp site. The lesson to learn here is that music will be online and streaming in the not so very distant future…

Also, you can check up on what my very talented colleagues are doing.

Until we meet again, may all you soaring ships stay afloat. Cheers!

Top Ten Albums of 2011

1. If Not Now, When? - Incubus

Incubus’ first album after their extended break from touring comes mostly as a surprise to those fans expecting Incubus’ old colors. Gone is the brash, loud, Marshall tone of Mike Einziger’s guitar that stood out on previous albums, replaced, without much hesitation, by incredible guitar work that blends itself into the background as a supporting role to Brandon Boyd’s vocals. Mind you, Einziger’s guitar still brings impressive intellectually-organized ‘shredding’ in songs like “Thieves” and “Adolescents” that puts journalists on the verge of comparing his might to the likes of James Page or Eric Clapton in the realm of guitarist stardom. Furthermore, Einziger is the only guitarist I know of who can achieve that subtle oriental style tone through his guitar-work, as can the rest of the band through their instrumental implementation. This refined sound captures the band’s old tone, repackaged with growing wisdom. Brandon Boyd’s honest lyricism is at the forefront of the band’s ability to share their emotions with the listener. Thanks to Jose Pasillas, “Switchblade” should be looked out for as the most addictive drumbeat ever heard on recording. The band’s clarity of vision helps bring this album to the number one album of 2011.

2. In the Mountain, In the Cloud - Portugal. The Man

With experience comes refinement, and the Alaskan band, Portugal. The Man, has proven it. With by far their greatest record ever, In the Mountain, In the Cloud proves that a small band that has been touring since the dawn of time have but the will to put on their socks and fade away from it all quietly without excitement. Perhaps the best way to describe Portugal. The Man to someone who is ignorant, is to compare the band to a bowl of psychedelic pop rocks that are set to challenge the earlier works of the established psychedelic rock band, MGMT. This album can only make you smile, specifically, a smile that only accepts big open grins that make your friends think you’ve gone loony. Once you’ve heard the album, you are already singing along! I would gladly be pulled over in my truck for jamming out to an illegal extent of crazy for their song “All Your Light(Times Like These)”; the song opens with an inexplicable base line and some pre-cursing grumbles from the lead singer, John Gourley, before the song erupts by lead of Gourley’s high pitched vocals almost in a rapping manner. Another song that begs belief would have to be “Sleep Forever”; if it is not set to your alarm clock yet, you have not heard it. “Sleep Forever” opens up quietly with two guitars and Gourley in phased whisper, only to have the rest of the band rise up from restraint in an orchestral series of timed explosions.

3. The King of Limbs - Radiohead

Radiohead is a band of change, but instead of “The King of Limbs” moving in a completely separate manner, the new album seem to sound like a sum up of their previous work. The album floats onward, track to track, making me remember Kid A, one of their previous albums. Their single, “Lotus Flower” acts as the centerpiece for the album; without it, The King of Limbs would seem to lack something. However, with “Lotus Flower” in place, the supporting pedal arrangement of songs spread themselves out upon their old spectrum of sound, so as to soak up as much new light the sun will share. The band takes their repetitive tonality from their earlier albums and mixes it with Thom Yorke’s evolved songwriting and the rest of the band’s realistic tone (in place of recorded electronics) that made In Rainbows such a stunner of an album.

4. So Beautiful or So What - Paul Simon

With electronics dominating pop music, making a hit pop album without fake electronic instruments seems like a risk among certainty; Paul Simon’s new album, So Beautiful or So What, proves to all the young musicians that it is possible to make an album without electronic beats. Songs like “Rewrite” that support the album are based with a stunning classical guitar picking rhythm that then lend the song to be dazzled with background variants of miscellaneous instrumentation that jump themselves in and out of existence. Paul Simon has arranged the music to follow his vocals up, down, left, and right, and for his vocals to follow the music. So Beautiful or So What is one of few albums that manages to have the lyrics dance perfectly with the music in a give and take manner, one following the other.

5. Running from a Gamble - Company of Thieves

Chicago’s own Company of Thieves is the new band to watch. I cannot even think of a band with a female vocalist, let alone male vocalist, that has lung filled with as much emotion and tone as Genevieve Schatz. Their 2009 debut, Ordinary Riches, was a good album that demanded recognition, but Running from a Gamble grabs your attention right out of the palm of your eardrums as soon as Marc Walloch’s guitar and Genevieve’s vocals gets your toe in the door with “Queen of Hearts”. In no time at all, you’ve already come to their single, “Death of Communication”. Instead of playing the same song over and over again, like some musician’s are forced to do, the chemistry in Company of Thieves allow songs like “Tallulah” to arise; the song is based off a series of horns and jazzy guitar that fit Genevieve’s vocals perfectly. Company of Thieves just “Won’t Go Quietly”; pun intended.

6. Simple Math - Manchester Orchestra

Simple Math was my first introduction to Andy Hull’s front band, Manchester Orchestra. The album starts off with the song “Deer” containing Andy’s character voice and a couple of subtle background instruments and vocals. This first song is the deep breath before the dive, before the amps are turned to 11 and the flying goggles are strapped to your ears. The way I initially described it was Thrice (see below) in Major; the aggression is present, but the key is changed to major (more or less), the tone is a cleaner, Orange-er overdrive, and the lyrics are more innocent (thats not to say the lyrics are innocent, just seemingly more so than the analytical theologic lyricism that defines Dustin Kensrue of Thrice). The single, “Virgin” depicts itself as a daemon of a balad. Andy sings most passionately on this single, supported by the erie instrumentation that reminds me of the darker side of Thrice’s Vheissu. “Virgin” is followed by “Simple Math” effectively acting as the transition back to Major key (more or less), but never putting the grandeur away.

7. Major/Minor - Thrice

Major/Minor seems to be a continuation of 2009’s Beggars, only louder with more aggression. The theory behind the music is taking what started out as a song in a Major key, then making it darker by transfering it into a Minor key. I am first and foremost a Thrice fan, so seemingly, this album should be my number one pick for album of the year. However, while I won’t ague against their choice of direction for the album (a heavier continuation of their previous album), their chance of creating a work that trumps the flow and originality of Beggars seems impossible. Behind Major/Minor’s agressive tone lies lyricism hinting at mortality the and theology of one’s recognizing that mortality. Its an album involving shoe shopping; each song, you have to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and recognize the anger, sadness, and mostly anger that goes with the purported storyteller’s life and present situation. While Thrice’s possibly final album is absolutely fantastic, and begs to be sung back at, Major/Minor lacks that spark, contrast, and originality that made Beggars so great.

8. Headspace EP - We Barbarians

When I first heard Headspace, i was completely blown away. From my prior experience with the three-piece New York based band, We Barbarians, their music emitted a relaxed, melodic tone that keeps your mind in the purgatory on the path to sleep after previous attentiveness. Headspace ups the pop vocals and upbeat tone, whilst still keeping the musical skill and songwriting ability that kept me from forgetting their name in the first place. Expect a cult following for this band following a release of a full length album.

9. Nothing is Wrong - Dawes

All it takes is a listen to Dawes’ opening single “Time Spent in Los Angeles” to understand where these guys are coming from, and where they are going. The no-frills band is made up of one pianist/organist, one guitarist/vocalist, one basist, and one drummer. The simplicity of their sound is the same kind of simplicity that helped produce Incubus’ If Not Now, When?; the music is great, but still supports the emotion of coming from the vocals. Their sound doesn’t happen to be that original, but it does provide a much needed cleanse from all the electronic pop ravaging our current society.

10. The Color Spectrum - The Dear Hunter

The Color Spectrum is Casey Crescenzo’s ‘pause’ after the third album in his Act series, though not much of a relaxing pause. The album is made up of 9 separate 4-song EPs making a grand total of 36 songs. If you want a concept album made with some serious testicular fortitude, look no further than Casey Crescenzo. The album starts out with Black, followed by Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet, and finished off with White. Black is unsurprisingly dark, with tones and drum beats that seem electronic, but are just a testament to Casey’s experience in the studio. The album flows from color to color very easy, getting passionate in Red, after a move away from the anger and complaints in Black, and finishing off with White that seems to bring hope away as a theme from the album journey. Perhaps the album separating from traditional Dear Hunter songwriting is Indigo; the album wavers traditional tone for repetitive ominous tonality and addictive percussion. However, if classic Dear Hunter song writing is looked for, the listener is bound to pick out Violet from the array of light. And that rounds out the top ten albums of 2011, see you guys next year!

Honorable Mention:

A Very She & Him Christmas - She & Him

Because Christmas.