Nathan Holscher

Detail: Tall, tattooed and rail thin, Nathan Holscher cuts a figure that could be imposing if he channeled his intensity into Rock's frenetic abandon or Punk's confrontational chaos. But Holscher has translated his emotional passion into the Folk idiom, and when he talks about his music and his intentions his words are delivered with the same measured deliberation and whispered modesty that defines the dark, quiet beauty of his sophomore album, Even the Hills.

"For better or worse, I don't or can't write the songs that make young women in sundresses dance," says Holscher with a smile over beers at Northside Tavern. "I write songs that reflect another side of people's lives. A lot of influence comes from the way I'm looking at life or the folks that I'm reading -- a lot of Wendell Berry, a Kentucky author, Faulkner's always a favorite and Wallace Stevens. I felt literature moving me toward this. And trying to write a song that doesn't get the listener to take a side."

Although he tends to keep his expectations and responses low-key, the future seems shades-bright for Holscher. He's rarely performed live but he's poised to change that situation very soon. Since its release, Even the Hills has generated strong support at WNKU and at college stations around the country, and the European audience that backed Pray for Rain has shown equal interest in the new album, leading Holscher to believe he might tour overseas in the foreseeable future. Still, he approaches everything with a wary sense of satisfaction.

"You have to be yourself and you can't worry about how anyone else is going to receive the record, because at the end of the day, it's going to be your record," says Holscher with a grin. "I'm not really part of any scene and I'm kind of a homebody, and I didn't know where it would go and frankly I don't care. I learned that on this one. If people get it, it's so affirming and wonderful, and if they don't, I'm going to wake up tomorrow and try to write another song."