“Dreamy, insightful, thought-provoking home-cooked American music that stands heads above anything it its realm” PULSE

Praise for God Fatigue in the Post Atom Age, released in late 2005 by SMA Records, and picked up by Eclectone Records for release in 2006.

The online retailer Miles of Music had this to say about
God Fatigue -

It`s A Cracker!! 100% Guaranteed!!
When you hear a bare recording of someone on their guitar - as if recorded live in an empty room - and the performance and song are strong enough to grab you, you know that performer has "it." Mike Nicolai has it for sure. Proof positive is in the stunning lead-off track, "Tarot`s Road", a "Heartworn Highways" worthy ode to freedom. And his performance remains curiously intriguing straight through to the final track, "It`s Your Blue, Swing It", a quirky lo-fi ditty which sounds like Hoagy Carmichael fronting The Residents. This record offers a progression of surprises. And at its core is a plaintively toned, but distinct songwriter on acoustic and electric guitar, capable of crack melodies of equal parts pop and folk. Marginal use of extra instrumentation elevates the mood to indie-rock territory at times, but it always returns to the stripped-down simplicity of just Nicolai alone. If pressed to describe his delivery, one might peg it as having a dash of Dylan, a smidgeon of Ray Davies, a pinch of Townes Van Zandt and a healthy dose of sincerity. The CD was produced by Rich Mattson of Ol` Yeller, with some additional help from Tom Herbers (Soul Asylum, Low, Jayhawks).

-- Robinson, Miles Of Music

Members past and present of great American bands such as The Replacements, Son Volt and The Gourds have contributed to Mike Nicolai's recordings. He wrote the song Catch You Alive for Austin TX group The Damnations, who released it as the final track on their 1999 Sire Records debut Half Mad Moon. His narration of the short film Looking Out For Hope, directed by Phil Harder of Harder / Fuller Films, can be heard on the DVD section of the boxed set A Lifetime of Temporary Relief by Low, who composed music for the film. He has toured extensively, both solo and with backing bands, and has played shows all over the U.S., including opening sets supporting artists such as Vic Chesnutt, Neko Case, Spoon, Richard Buckner, Jeff Tweedy, and many others. In 2005 he performed on the Christmas Train to New Orleans Hurricane Katrina relief tour along with many prominent artists including Arlo Guthrie, Willie Nelson and Ramblin' Jack Elliot. Three years he has been invited to perform as a showcasing artist at the SXSW Music and Media Festival in Austin, TX.

... a transcendental blend of word and image, laid painfully bare... rock music stripped to its essence, free of frills and bullshit...

Austin Chronicle

... has both the rogue charm of Another Side of Bob Dylan and the hoarse irreverence of The Replacements' Tim...

No Depression

... Nicolai's bizarre lyrical tableau veer from hilarious to angering to chillingly cold and real, sometimes within a single verse... it can feel somethig like getting a ride home from a sensationally drunk savant who's talking so fast and furious he's barely watching the road...

Audiogalaxy