UNC dental student Nathan White (yeah, dental student) heads up Nathan Oliver, a band from Chapel Hill, NC.The band says it sounds like "suspiciously cuddly stuffed animals with fake blood all over them". Make your own judgments by checking out the four tracks they've given us off Cloud Animals. For more Nathan Oliver, check out their MySpace and their website. And don't forget to floss...

"Icicles For Fingers"

I tend to write lyrics from a visual or tactile sense and this is a good example.

I wrote this song about a good friend who moved from Chapel Hill, NC to downtown Seattle, WA without knowing a soul there.  For a while, it seemed like everyone he reached out to would turn on him or abandon him--basically act cold.  He really couldn't win.  He's a pretty artistic guy and eventually got involved in this group in Seattle writing short stories that had five revolving stipulations that everyone had to abide by.  One of the stipulations for this particular story was "insertion", so naturally my friend turns to writing a short story about some perv having his way with a pinata.

"Under Lock & Key"

This track has kind of a chopped timing paired with this visual of a person on stilts as thin as matchsticks.  That are about to SNAP!  The lyrics aim to create that as well.  I liked the stuttery "Hey....it's been so....hey....it's been so....long since I've seen"--like a nervous reintroduction to someone with whom things didn't end nicely.

"French Press"

This song follows another trend of the album which is kind of profiling different people and how they meet.  I wrote this song for a good (different) friend, about how and when we met.  She used to live on this country road near a church that these holier than thou snotty hipster kids--who were her acquaintances--used to break into to make out and steal things.  I was wondering what utterly bold statement they made, and if they've been struck by lightning.

"Playground Lies"

I'm pretty sure I recorded this plinky glockenspiel line as a joke for a Christmas song.  Eventually it turned into this kind of upbeat pop song and I stuck with it.  When I went into make a formal recording, I think I spent 8 hours trying to perfectly double track the easiest glock line known to man.  Not a good use of time.  I had to delete 50-something rejected tracks.  When I was done and everything synced up the way I wanted it, Zeno Gill (engineer) said it sounded "creepy."  I was going for endearing.  Thanks.

The lyrics are fictional--just about a young girl who tries to run away from home because she naively thinks she can outsmart the world.  Maybe it's a little condescending towards her.

NO DC DATES AS OF NOW-but keep watching this space.