Nathan Allebach
Waste
Reviewed by: Julia Cirignano
Nathan Allebach has recently released his solo debut album titled Waste. Before this album, he released music with his band Former Belle, and with Rachel Moyer as a duo they called Nathan Earl and Rachel Joy.
Allebach is known for writing songs about various subjects such as politics, religion, and growing up in this crazy world. He commonly deals with the struggle of merely existing, and does so in a truly artful way. Allebach’s talent for turning serious subject matters into creative, fun, energetic, moving music is special and important. During the song “The Nationalism Gospel” (only Allebach could come up with such a title), he speaks of God in a beautiful way with delicate guitar playing over powerful lyrics, “When will the weak have justice?/And the bombs stop falling”. Then comes the chorus with the repeating lines, “God is love/And love is God”.
In contrast, during his track titled “Alright”, he chooses to use simple, casual language to express his ideas with lyrics such as, “I wanna be/The one you go to sleep with/ Every night/I wanna be/The one you brush your teeth with/Every night”. No matter what Allebach’s subject is, he sends out a great message. He draws attention to the importance of world peace, and also romance between just two people.
Waste is also full of many musical styles. Allebach uses the creative freedom he possesses to make each song an important piece within the album as a whole; both in terms of subject matter and sound.
Rating: Bad-Ass
