Nathan Xander - Three Waltzes (2023)

Nathan Xander writes songs that are steeped in the quiet, restrained tension of what Greil Marcus called the 'Old, Weird America'. His sixth album, Three Waltzes, is an acutely perceptive look at life’s transitional moments, capturing Xander and his band amid pivotal changes—a new lineup, Xander’s quitting alcohol, and the pandemic’s impact on musicians everywhere. With musical sensibilities inspired by latter day Nick Lowe, Tom T. Hall, and Paul Westerberg, Xander sorts through loss and evolving identity as he stands on the threshold of a new era in his own career.

Originally from rural Union City, PA, Xander started songwriting at age eighteen, sparked by his habit of scouring record shops for first the classics, then the hidden gems and vinyl obscurities which tell a more lonely and mysterious tale. A self-professed crate digger and amateur musical anthropologist, Xander dove off the deep end into country, folk, and rock—sounds all woven expertly into Three Waltzes. He also credits the local music scenes of Pittsburgh, Chicago, and now New York City, his home for the last decade, for pushing him to grow as a songwriter. This drive to ever improve eventually brought him success playing shows with Justin Townes Earle, Tyler Childers, BJ Barham of American Aquarium, and Howe Gelb of Giant Sand.

Xander takes the experience of the last few years and runs with it, relating current events to his real life with relatable lyrics meant to get people’s heads nodding along in recognition. “People Might Believe” is a rocker about living in the world of the endless news cycle, while “Sitting In The Corner” is a love letter to partner sitting just a few feet away. New York City itself often appears as a character, as in “Tide Rolls Back,” a song about accepting his place in a changing world, and “BFE,” a cosmic waltz about extraterrestrials visiting NYC in their mothership. Loss also shows up across the album, nowhere more poignantly than on the Sparklehorse influenced waltz “Progress of Man” (“At best you’ll walk on with a good story to tell / The nights last forever, some days are pure hell / Scatter the ashes of the progress of man / I just can wait to have you in my arms again”).

Three Waltzes captures a certain time, place, and feeling like lightning in a bottle. It’s the uncertainty before the storm, balanced on the edge of change, with a gentle reminder that everything will be alright. Xander’s wryly humorous and oftentimes touching examination of his own life just might help us understand ours. With more music soon on the way, he is hitting his stride, saying “hello in there” to anyone who may be listening—and we will be, on repeat.