Samuel Aaron has no interest in appearing nonchalant. The Chicago-based, Portland-born artist has a refreshingly earnest approach to making music, weaving together insightful lyricism, colorful arranging, and soulful vocal performances. While Aaron’s songwriting is rooted in the folk lineage, his affinity for eclectic soundscapes and his taste for a wide array of genres–including art-pop, R&B, and more–reverberate through his music. In the vein of artists like Big Thief, Bon Iver, and Andy Shauf, Aaron’s brand of alternative folk is brimming with substance but never in lieu of style. The through-line of Aaron’s music isn’t genre or mood; it’s his approach to telling stories. Aaron’s versatility as a vocalist, lyricist, producer, and instrumentalist manifests in his music’s innate sense of world-building; this rings clearly on Aaron’s debut album, Rambler, in which he traverses the landscapes of his making, through boisterous rock songs, theatrical chamber-pop orchestrations, and stripped-down guitar ballads. The result is his most daring project to date.