Michael Nau’s career has snaked from the surreal and symbolically rich dream folk of Page France to the honest, vulnerable sing-song-along Americana of Cotton Jones. While a pop sensibility has always permeated his music, Nau has taken it even further in his solo work. This Friday, you can hear it for yourself when Nau releases his new album, Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread, through Full Time Hobby.
Nau’s voice, with its mellow, expressive tone, is a constant delight, and as past recorded glories reveal, he is certainly no songwriting slouch. But with Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread, the vox and sounds seem to have hit on a flawless fit with his current band, The Mighty Thread, making for the fullest-sounding Nau yet. This has been evident on the tracks he’s released thus far, and it is punch-in-the-face obvious on his latest single, “When.” In keeping with this perfect pair theme, the video for “When” suits the tune beautifully as well, which you can check out below.
“The video is just a bunch of old (public-domain) home movie footage that I liked and I’ve been trying to assemble in different ways,” says The Mighty Thread drummer and “When” video creator Graeme Gibson. “Good people moments. I found that editing visuals is a bit different than audio so I enlisted the help of an experienced documentary editor Emilee Booher to put the footage to good use.”
Watch the wonderful retrophilia of “When” below, followed by the Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread tracklist and tour dates. Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread can be ordered here.
Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread tracklisting:
01. Less Than Positive
02. Shadow On
03. When
04. What’s a Loon
05. Far the Far
06. No Faraway Star
07. Funny in Real Life
08. On Ice
09. Funny Wind
10. Can’t Take One
11. Smudge
Michael Nau live:
08.03.18 - Happy Valley, OR - Pickathon
08.05.18 - Happy Valley, OR - Pickathon
09.16.18 - Leffinge, Belgium - Leffingeleuren Festival
09.17.18 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
09.18.18 - Berlin, Germany - Kantine Am Berghain ^
09.19.18 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Loppen ^
09.20.18 - Hamburg, Germany - Reeperbahn Festival
09.21.18 - Utrecht, Netherlands - Ekko ^
09.24.18 - Bristol, UK - The Louisiana
09.25.18 - Manchester, UK - Gullivers
09.26.18 - London, UK - Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen
09.27.18 - Paris, France - Le Pop-Up Du Label ^
09.28.18 – Dunkirk, France - We Will Folk You Festival
09.29.18 – Masstricht, Netherlands - Muziekgieterij
09.30.18 – Dormund, Germany - Way Back When Festival
10.09.18 – Denver, CO - Lost Lake Lounge #
10.10.18 – Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge #
10.12.18 – Seattle, WA - Sunset Tavern #
10.14.18 – Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios #
10.16.18 – San Francisco, CA - Cafe Du Nord #
10.18.18 – Costa Mesa, CA - The Wayfarer #
10.19.18 – Los Angeles, CA - Moroccan Lounge #
10.20.18 – San Diego, CA - The Casbah #
11.01.18 – Washington, DC - DC9
11.02.18 – Pittsburgh, PA - Club Cafe
11.05.18 – Boston, MA - Middle East Upstairs
11.06.18 – Brooklyn, NY - Zone One at Elsewhere
11.08.18 – Goshen, IN - Ignition Garage
11.09.18 – Chicago, IL - Schuba’s
^ Odetta Hartman
# Erin Rae
More about: Cotton Jones, Michael Nau, Page France
