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.

Beau Wood once told me my sets feel like Saturday morning cartoons—if you had a fourth beer in hand and an uncounted cigarette burning nearby.  Kelsi Schacht rolls her eyes every time she catches me fishing for her once-genuine praise:  "You're my favorite songwriter."  Caden, a college shortstop, keeps it simple:  "Shit's hard, dog."
Chase says I have the kind of luck that’ll spread to you if you get close enough.  The best parking spot at a funeral kind of luck.

Men have cried, and I feel warm about that.  The songs stay lyrically driven—with themes of simplicity, patience, and compassion—and a fingerpicked dreadnought to keep them moving.  Winnie the Pooh with wide eyes and spiked honey.  Anything but numb is Your Jack.