Inside Loisaida Avenue’s Studio 151, singer-songwriter aron! brought out an acoustic guitar to introduce his debut album.
“It’s about falling in love, as most songs are,” he says before playing one of his songs.
aron!’s Too Close For Running released on Sept. 18, but his release party gave fans and friends a sneak preview of the 12-track pop jazz album. Guests enjoyed hand rolls and nigiri and sipped signature drinks themed after the tracklist, like a deliciously bitter raspberry vodka lemonade named for the song “I Told My Mom About You.” aron!’s acoustic set was followed up by a Q&A session about the album and his career thus far.
aron! told the crowd he studied film scoring in college at the University of Miami, prompted by a question about the “cinematic” buildup of his songs. Strings swell under his gentle vocals in opening track “Love Is How You Lose,” where he sings about falling in love with a friend and struggling to ignore his feelings.
Much of Too Close For Running is themed after this fear of attachment and emotional intimacy. Ironically, aron! said he found it difficult to write the album.
“I don’t really like being vulnerable,” he said.
Despite being outside his comfort zone, aron!’s album excels in its sensibility. Fans of artists like Laufey and Dodie will find a new favorite in aron!, whose tender, lo-fi songs capture the warmth of love — and the anxieties that follow it. One track, “Call When You Can,” was actually a collaboration between aron! and Dodie, who he cites as a major inspiration since he grew up listening to her music. It was a “fully remote collaboration,” he shared: The two artists both sing and play clarinet on the track, but their parts were recorded individually.
Like the cozy orange glow of Studio 151, aron!’s debut album is a true comfort. In under 40 minutes, the artist sings candidly of the risks and rewards of young love, doing so above dreamy instrumentals and soft drums. The album is now available to stream, and if you’re in New York City on Oct. 29, you’ll be able to catch aron!’s performance for Lawrence the Band’s Staycation at the Brooklyn Paramount.
(Feature photo courtesy of Verve Records.)
