Marissa Nadler (born April 5, 1981)[1] is an American singer-songwriter. Active since 2000, she is currently signed to Sacred Bones Records and Bella Union, and released her ninth full-length studio album, The Path of the Clouds, in October 2021.[2] Her music has been characterized as blending "traditional folk, Gothic Americana, and dreamy pop into an original musical framework".[3] Her music "is rooted in old-school country and folk but brings in elements of experimental and black metal".[4] Sometimes the term "dream folk" has been invoked to describe her work.[5]
Singing in a mezzo-soprano, Nadler has received acclaim for her vocals. Her voice was described by Pitchfork as one "you would follow straight into Hades", and also "textured and angelic, with just a hint of pain captured within her iridescent falsetto".[6]The Boston Globe said, "She has a voice that, in mythological times, could have lured men to their deaths at sea, an intoxicating soprano drenched in gauzy reverb that hits bell-clear heights, lingers, and tapers off like rings of smoke".[7]
Early life
Marissa Nadler was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Needham, Massachusetts.[8] She was raised Jewish.[9] As a teenager, she taught herself to play guitar in a style similar to fingerpicking, playing a steady bass pattern with the thumb and filling out syncopated rhythms with the index finger.[7] It was described as having an "unorthodox, dusky sound".[10] Also while in her teens, she began to write songs as a hobby.[10] She studied painting at Rhode Island School of Design, where she obtained a bachelor's degree in illustration in 2003, and a master's degree in art education a year later. During her studies, she began to perform at open mic events around Providence. While exploring artistic techniques such as illustration, painting, bookbinding, wood carving and encaustic painting, she also honed her songwriting craft.[7] She subsequently recorded an album titled Autumn Rose (2002) as well as the four-track EP Somber Ghost Recordings (2003), neither of which have ever been released.[11] Nadler also contributed to the Pearl Before Swine tribute album For the Dead in Space - Volumes II & III in 2003.
Nadler released her first official album, Ballads of Living and Dying, on Eclipse Records in January 2004.[12] The follow-up The Saga of Mayflower May was released in July 2005.[10] Both records were distributed in the United States by Eclipse, and by the UK label Beautiful Happiness in Europe.[13]
Nadler released her third studio album, Songs III: Bird on the Water, on Peacefrog Records in Europe on March 12, 2007. The album was recorded and produced by Greg Weeks of the band Espers in Philadelphia and was subsequently released in the US and Canada on August 12, 2007, by Kemado Records.[15] It was nominated for two PLUG Independent Music Awards in 2008: "Best Female Artist of the Year" and "Best Americana Record of the Year". Nadler also won "Outstanding Singer-Songwriter of the Year" at the 2008 Boston Music Awards, with three nominations altogether.[16]
Her fourth full-length album, Little Hells, produced by Chris Coady, was released on March 3, 2009[17] and received praise from many critics.[18] including 4-star reviews from magazines such as Mojo, Rolling Stone in France and Germany, Uncut, and Q. It received an 8.3 from Pitchfork.[19] The album departed from the earlier folk-based template with the introduction of electronic elements.[10] In early 2010, Nadler contributed vocals on Portal of Sorrow, the final album by black metal project Xasthur.[20]
On June 14, 2011, an eponymous record was released worldwide on Nadler's own label, Box of Cedar Records.[21] The song "Baby, I Will Leave You in the Morning" was released as a free download on March 8, followed by a subsequent music video.[22] The album was positively received by Pitchfork, which gave it 8.1 out of 10,[23] and it was called "a stellar collection of sullen melodies and lovelorn anecdotes akin to those of Joni Mitchell".[6]
On May 29, 2012, she released The Sister, a short eight-song "companion" album to Marissa Nadler.[24] The album was dubbed by Paste as an "impressive concoction of stark minimalism".[6]
"July is moon music, quiet music, slurp-merlot-in-the-fetal-position music, a slow-burning tapestry of goth-folk torch songs and woozy-pop incantations about love and loss and memory, whispered by the same spirits as Julee Cruise's airy Twin Peaks vocals."
July received positive feedback from music critics. At Metacritic, it received "universal acclaim" with a score of 83 out of 100.[36] A majority of music publications gave July 4 out of 5 stars, among them NME,[37]Drowned in Sound,[38]Blurt[39] and PopMatters,[40] In a positive review, PopMatters called the album a "triumph" and "one of 2014's best albums so far",[40] while Spin called it a "masterfully composed release".[26]Vice Media's Noisey website discussed the atmosphere of the album, writing that "the darkly lit July is a moody trip through heat spells and night drives... Nadler's quiet songwriting and ethereal sound give July a sound that's, at times, almost sinister".[41] Steven Rosen of Blurt wrote that Nadler managed to achieve an "almost-hallucinatory effect out of her singing, often multi-tracking the voice to create a ghostly pillowing effect".[39]
In July 2014, Nadler collaborated with Father John Misty, releasing a split 7-inch on Bella Union.[42] Father John Misty covered Nadler's "Drive", while Nadler covered "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings".[43]
2015–2016: Strangers
The album Strangers, recorded with producer Dunn in 2015, was released on May 20, 2016, on Sacred Bones and Bella Union.[44] A limited edition version with original artwork included a pre-release cassette of Bury Your Name.
The album release was accompanied by an extensive tour of North America and Europe. In late 2016, Nadler joined Ghost for the US tour.
Strangers holds a score of 76 out of 100 from Metacritic based on "generally favorable reviews".[45] The album was listed on several lists of 2016's best albums to date, including Spin,[46]Newsweek,[47]Uncut[48] and The Quietus.[49]Spin also listed "Janie in Love" as one of the best songs of 2016 so far.[50]
During this period, Nadler directed and animated music videos for Strangers tracks "Janie in Love"[51] and "All the Colors of the Dark",[52] as well as "Blood and Tears",[53] a Danzig cover she had self-released as a digital-only single for Halloween 2015.[54] In late September 2016, a video for the Strangers song "Dissolve", featuring both animation and live performance, was released on Pitchfork.tv.[55]
2017–2018: Leave the Light On: Bedroom Recordings and For My Crimes
After touring Europe and North America promoting Strangers, Nadler guested on the Lawrence Rothman album The Book of Law (2017),[56] and on Ojalá (2017), the debut album by Lost Horizons, a duo consisting of Simon Raymonde (Cocteau Twins) and Richie Thomas (Dif Juz, the Jesus and Mary Chain).[57] On September 15, 2017, Sacred Bones released Nadler's first compilation album, Leave the Light On: Bedroom Recordings, a collection of home recordings and demos dating back to 2014.[58][59] She also self-released two covers albums on Bandcamp for free download.[60]
"The latest in a long career of consistently stellar records, For My Crimes is a shining example of how Nadler continues to impress and improve upon each release"
Nadler's eighth studio album, For My Crimes, was released by Sacred Bones on September 28, 2018.[62]Rolling Stone wrote that, in contrast to the 2014 break-up album July, For My Crimes, "seems to touch instead on the daily realities of making a relationship work, the epilogue to a happily-ever-after love story when real life kicks in".[63] It was her first album cover to feature her fine art, an untitled painting.[64] The album included guest vocals by Olsen, Sharon Van Etten and Kristin Kontrol. The album's first video, "Blue Vapor", was directed by Thomas McMahan, who "utilizes various experimental and mixed media animation techniques, merging the mood and imagery of the song with hallucinatory visuals..."[65] Nadler's wardrobe in the video for "Blue Vapor" was created and put together by New York-based costume designer and stylistJenni Hensler, who also styled Nadler's Pitchfork.tv performance clip for the song "Dissolve."[66][67]For My Crimes was relatively well-received by critics and fans.
2019-2020: "Poison" / "If We Make It Through The Summer" and Droneflower
Marissa Nadler performing in 2019 before a reproduction of her painting "For my Crimes" in Groningen
On February 21, 2019, Nadler released a collaborative track with John Cale called "Poison". On the same day she shared another song called "If We Make It Through The Summer".[68] Her collaborative album with Stephen Brodsky, Droneflower was released on April 26, 2019.[69] The album received positive reviews, earning a 8/10 score from Soundblab,[70] 8/10 from PopMatters,[71] 7/10 from Atwood Magazine,[72] 7/10 from Earbuddy,[73] 3.5/5 from The Thin Air[74] and a 4.5/5 from Cryptic Rock.[75] The music website Everythingisnoise remarked, "this mind meld between Nadler and Brodsky is unexpectedly brilliant."[76] and SLUG Magazine called the collaboration a "cosmic collision" in a favorable review.[77]Droneflower was performed at three East Coast shows in June 2019, together with the release of a claymation video of "For the Sun."[78] On December 6, 2019, Nadler and Brodsky released two cover songs on Bandcamp that were not included on the Droneflower album: "In the air tonight" by Phil Collins and "More than words" by Extreme.[79] Nadler's figurative and sonic work again converged at the Grauzone Festival in The Hague in February 2020 with a stage performance and simultaneous exhibition of self-portrait paintings.[80] In addition, 2020 saw the publication two limited-edition books of photography,[81] a cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "Old Friends/Bookends"[82] and two albums of previously unreleased songs and demo versions, Unearthed[83] and Covers 3.[84] 3 July 2020 saw the release of the EP moons which has a meditative, ambient atmosphere.
2021-2024: Instead of Dreaming and The Path of the Clouds
In February 2021, she released the single "Sleepwalk & Lonely People", and in May 2021 the compilation album Instead of Dreaming.
Nadler released her ninth solo album, The Path of the Clouds on October 29, 2021.[85]Like others, the album found its origins in the Covid-19 pandemic: "Gripped by wanderlust while suddenly housebound at the start of the pandemic in 2020, Nadler escaped into writing, and came back with a stunning set of songs about metamorphosis, love, mysticism, and murder."[86] A review from the magazine UNCUT notes that, "[e]scape is a central theme of the album, and several songs recall historical cases of mysterious disappearances, but infused with personal experience, blurring the line between fact and fiction."[87] This self-produced album contains the most sonically elaborate work of her discography.[88] Various guests make an appearance on The Path of the Clouds including harpist Mary Lattimore and former Cocteau Twins bassist Simon Raymonde. Emma Ruth Rundle contributes a guitar solo to "Turned into Air" and Amber Webber of Black Mountain provides backing vocals on "Elegy". Milky Burgess played various instruments throughout the album.[86]
The Path of the Clouds has received critical acclaim. NME gave the album a positive review, writing, "This is a departure for Nadler in a number of ways, with more sophisticated production, unusual storytelling, and a firm look ahead to her future as an artist (more piano, more power vocally)."[85]Pitchfork awarded the album a score of 7.5, comparing the album favourably to the true crime genre that inspired it: "The thrills of The Path of the Clouds are far richer than most true crime fiction, but like the best examples of the genre, it leaves you breathless."[89] The album received four stars from 8/10 from UNCUT,[88] MusicOMH,[87] Rock n Reel,[90]MOJO,[91] and Record Collector.[92] Other reviewers were even more positive, with All Music Guide (4 ½ stars) praising the "epic, aching songs, which refuse to keep tragedy at arm's length"[93] and Sputnikmusic (superb: 4.5) noting that it "sounds so lush, sweeping, and powerful that all the subtle, intricate melodies are merely the cherry on top."[94] In its five-star "essential" review, Contact Music called the album "exquisitely crafted and utterly beguiling" and recommended that, "The Path of the Clouds … should be listened to, uninterrupted, in its entirety."[95]
^Marissa Nadler (August 7, 2019). "Blue Vapor". Marissa Nadler Music YouTube channel. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
