NateWantsToBattle: Anything Can be Music

This week I’ve been back on my “one artist” kick. Instead of listening to playlists, I’ve been cycling through artists I love and listening to their music. And the most recent independent artist I’ve cycled back to is Nathan Sharp, aka NateWantsToBattle.

I first found Nathan because of his unique choice in creating music about things that inspire him. More specifically, I am not proud to admit it but I went through a big video game phase and he was making music about the games specifically. Somehow his music made the games so much more attractive and immersive to me. But I have since found that he does make music that isn’t about video games.

On his album Sandcastle Kingdoms, which was released in 2017, all of the songs are absolutely stunning. The first song I heard from this album was “Branded.” I found that this song was just stunning. It’s a mixture of a Panic! At the Disco sound and a Fall Out Boy sound, which is very hard to do. I think the most capturing thing about this song other than its catchy beat, at least for me, was the music video. I’m very much a visual person and the visual for the song as a whole was amazing. It was masquerade themed mixed with steam punk and had so much good tension throughout. Absolutely breathtaking.

From the same album, “Live Long Enough to Become the Hero” is a really uplifting song. It is definitely a song I would pick to put behind an epic battle scene where the main character is finally winning after being beat down for the entirety of the battle. I find a lot of emotion in this song, making it a very relatable song. Something I admire about him is his vocals. Nathan does a lot of light screaming and hits a lot of notes that are almost out of his range. Because of this, I find his voice to be very enticing because he pushes his limits and he does it well.

“I’d Love to Break it to You,” is an anthem for me. With its guitar and drums being most of the driving force in the song, I find this song so easy to scream by myself. It is a powerhouse for the album. It is definitely a feel good song for those going through a hard time. I just feel extremely motivated as I listen to the song. Its one that gives me a good sense of “I can do it.”

His next independent album Paid in Exposure set the bar even higher than Sandcastle Kingdoms did. This album had a far different tone and sound throughout. This one shows a lot more growth and self reflection where as his first album was more of his breakthrough into his music style.

One of the songs I love from this album is “Call it Off.” It’s delicate beats mixed with quieter vocals shows us a completely different side of Nathan. I find that this song would be a great transition song for a coming of age film where the main character walks through town and watches the world move around them. This song is extremely relatable and talks about real struggles for both him and the listener.

“Take me Anywhere” is the one somber song on the album. A slower beat with piano tolling throughout the whole thing, this song is beautiful. The lyrical abilities Nathan put into this song are so amazing and haunting. It is so much more personal than anything on the first album ever was. Its just absolutely mind blowing to me how powerful the song is.

And the last song I’ll highlight from him is my personal favorite. “Bones” has amazing sounds like glass shattering and clicks throughout it, pushing it into the league of Jon Bellion. The visual for this song was chilling. Everything about the music video was great. And again, the self reflection and self questioning done in the song makes it so relatable. If you listen closely to the lyrics, its all things I’m sure almost everyone has asked themselves. Nathan just put them in words for us.

Overall, Nathan Sharp is one of the most impressive independent artists I’ve ever listened to. His dedication to continue making music through everything and be open about struggles in his music is extremely impressive.

Keep on Listening!