That’s not really a punk song, dude.”

Aaron Scott heard these words often from his bandmates while singing for the New York punk bands De La Hoya and Marathon. After years of bringing in song ideas that didn’t quite fit the full band format, he decided to finish the songs on his own. In 2006, as Marathon was breaking up, he adopted the moniker Attica! Attica! and began recording his debut full length, Dead Skin/Dried Blood. With the help of multi-instrumentalist Chris Antal, Aaron crafted a diverse album of songs ranging from alt-country satire to mournful piano ballads to folk punk laid over electronic beats.

Soon after, Aaron moved to Portland, OR, and began playing out with this unconventional album. He embarked on multiple car-pool tours where his tourmates filled backing band duties onstage.. He played shows as a duo (again with Chris Antal), and completed a tour by bicycle with two companions that spanned 2,400 miles from Boston to Key West. Despite all these collaborative travels, Aaron most often found himself playing shows alone with a guitar.

For two years following the release of Dead Skin/Dried Blood, Aaron slowly wrote and recorded songs in a style that more closely reflected his live show. While it was tempting to try to top the sprawling ambitiousness of his first record, he opted instead for a stripped down collection of acoustic guitar and piano songs. The result is Napalm & Nitrogen, an up-tempo folk album that offers more focus than its predecessor. As he has before, Aaron lyrically combines his hopes for social justice with the introspection of a wanderer in constant transition. Despite the sparse instrumentation, the songs maintain the passion and intensity that attracted many a listener to his previous bands.

They’re not really punk songs, but they’re not not punk songs.

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