Nate Ashley

Nate Ashley has been an obscure name even by indie pop standards, although his debut album, Where Matter Lives, was a very high-quality effort in that style. Ashley has a breathy, confessional, singer/songwriter aura that recalls some of the better folk-rock of the late '60s and early '70s, while steering entirely clear of the laid-back, polished sound of performers such as James Taylor. It would be more properly aligned with the sparsest of the Beatles' folk-rock tracks (both as a group and solo performers) from that era, or with Elliott Smith along with his contemporary peers. Ashley is marked as a 2000 performer, rather than a 1970 one or even a 1970 wannabe, by the enigmatic flavor of much of his lyrics, as well as an underlying nervous insecurity and moodiness underlying some of his tracks. Where Matter Lives was done between 1996 and 1998 on bedroom four- and eight-track recorders in the Northwest (though the sound is clear and definitely not lo-fi), and released in 1999. Darling I'm Your Devil followed in 2000.