Postcard from a Never Ending Day

A couple of weeks ago, before I left to go on vacation, I got an email inviting me to check out the music of someone named Arthur Nasson. I had never heard the name, even though the email told me his music has been licensed to the MTV shows “Made” and “My Super Sweet Sixteen.” I guess one explanation might be that I don’t watch those shows, but still, I would have thought the name might at least show up on my radar.

Before I even heard his music, I noticed that the online ‘zine Americana UK had referred to Nasson as an “unhinged Dylan,” something that might be considered heresy in some quarters. After listening to the songs, I can say Nasson can turn a clever phrase, but I’d put him more in the category of Warren Zevon than Bob Dylan. (In fairness to Americana UK, I think they were referring to his “great ear for a tune and [the] willingness to try anything once to make one.”) In no way, though, does that detract from the catchiness of his music.

Nasson comes from a piano salesman background, a job he was laid off from, giving him the time to make The Battle of Melrose Street while handling childcare duties and other stay-at-home dad chores. He played all the instruments on Battle, recording it in his basement studio on an 8-track cassette deck with an $80 microphone. He produced, released, and has marketed the album himself.

The Boston Herald, in what could be called a ringing endorsement, wrote that the album is “Perfect pop, richly arranged Technicolor songs...without machines. It’s no more artistic or less accessible than the multi-million selling albums the Beatles made in their prime.”

Postcard from a Never Ending Day.mp3
Monkey with a Mannequin Hand.mp3

Arthur Nasson’s MySpace

Labels: indie, new stuff

posted by aikin @ 1:36 PM