Marissa Nadler is a Boston, Massachusetts based Folk singer, who I only got familiar with about a year ago. I’m picky with my folk music, really picky. But when I heard the warm, fuzzy angelic folk music Nadler was producing I honestly got hooked really quickly. Outside of a few instrumentations here and there, Nadler for the most part has been the centerpiece of her music. Don’t get me wrong, she still is, but on “Strangers” here, I heard Nadler branched out heavy as far as instrumentals go. Shall we dive deeper!
Strangers starts off with ""Divers Of The Dust", right off the bat Marissa gives off that warm feeling, but this time in a much more spacious environment. In the past, Nadler's performances have been very intimate. Here, while the instrumentals don't show it just yet, she seems to have a whole lot of room to breath. Her sound here is much grander, a whole lot more massive even though this track could have easily ended up on one of her earlier releases. Nadler's voice sounds absolutely heavenly, and her vivid lyrical performance is as stunning as ever. The piano's here are warm, and those distant strings really give this track just so much room to breathe. "Divers Of The Dust" may be short, but it's a great intro. It shows how massive Marissa Nadler's sound has become. Now, in the past she's toyed with a dark atmosphere from time to time, but hell I feel like everyone has. This intro is no different, hell there's almost a slight Gothic feeling, almost similar to some of the material on Chelsea Wolfe's last album "Abyss". Like I said, ""Divers Of The Dust" is nothing monumental, but it sets the tone of the rest of "Strangers" wonderfully. Up next is "Katie I Know", which continues to have an absolutely gigantic sound. Right off the bat we have folky guitars, which turn actually creepy as soon as Nadler's first verse arrives. Her vocal's here are almost hypnotizing, as the thick atmosphere of "Katie I Know" continues to grow and grow. When the chorus hits, it's almost tear jerking. No matter how dark these tracks can get, there isn't a minute that goes by where Nadler's music isn't elegant. The string section here is powerful, while Nadler's vocals remain airy and haunting, "Katie I Know" is really pretty damn overwhelming. Now maybe it's all the horror movies I've watched in my life, but I can't help but shake how dark some of these moments are, and I can easily see this played over some twisted rendition of Little Red Riding Hood or something. Every moment of "Katie I Know" is breathtaking, and not a single second is wasted. Up next is "Skyskraper". Right off the bat, there's a little more country sound in the guitars. It's still more folk than anything though. However, once Nadler's vocals come in, everything changes. The atmosphere here is just so suffocating, and the multi-layered effects on Nadler give this an even darker feel than previous tracks. However, as dark as some of these tracks may sound, it never feels tense or "scary". No, the darkness here on these tracks strangely sounds warm and inviting. Nadler has always made really decent atmosphere's in the past. But this, this is just overwhelming. For a folk record, everything is just so heavy. "Skyscraper" continues on with its haunting beauty, and even features a thick drone at one point. This track ends up being one of the album's most surreal tracks. It's so dark, it feels like a really strange dream that's a cross between nice and a nightmare, and I love every second. All of these elements continue through most of the album, take for example the warm "All The Colors Of The Dark". Her voice here is absolutely mesmerizing, as soon as her verse starts I just want to sit and listen to everything she says. But this is a great example of how great her music can still be even if it's not necessarily as dark as other moments here. "All The Colors Of The Dark" is absolutely gorgeous. Instrumentally this one is almost lullaby-ish, it's bizarre and strange, but also haunting and beautiful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6YIdLY9J7g
While the majority of the moments here follow along with the first set of tracks discussed, there are a few tracks that strip down the whole atmosphere and go straight up folk tune on us. Sadly, these tracks really aren't as effective. Take for example "Hungry is The Ghost". For a track with such an ominous title, it's the sunniest sounding track here. Now the track is as big sounding as other and is still dreamy, but the atmosphere besides that is just dead. The track takes so long to get going, and the atmosphere is just so wrong. I'm not saying I don't like her stuff when it's not dark. But seriously this feels like it could've been penned by any faceless indie folk artist. The drums in the background are so sluggish, it's just so boring. However, Nadler still sounds just as heavenly and the piano licks are fantastic. "Waking" starts great with instrumentals so thick you think they're going to consume her. The main problem here though is how short it feels. This track literally comes off as so incomplete, and it's a shame because lyrically it's absolutely stunning. As soon as "Waking"'s atmosphere becomes fully realized, the tracks over, what a bummer. "Shadow Show Diane" once again has a very stripped down folk sound, but this one just really feels out of place. Some of the earlier tracks on here literally transported you inside the track. "Shadow Show Diane" feels like it would have been much more at home on an earlier Nadler release.
Don't worry though, the majority of the material here is more than entertaining. Take for example the album's title track, "Strangers". Some of the guitar licks here are drifting into almost Psychedelic territory. This album as a whole clearly is Nadler's most rock oriented work, and this track is a great example of it. Everything about the sound here is mesmerizing, from the weeping guitars floating through the background, to the distorted fuzz floating right under Nadler's absolutely angelic performance. I'm absolutely in love with the atmosphere of this album, everything about it just makes this sound like one big dark fairy tale told by way of folk songs. Up next we have one of the album's earliest released tracks here, "Janie in Love". This one doesn't waste a single second as the folky guitars float in and Nadler's siren song begins once again. The chorus here is so hypnotizing, with the darkness in this track trailing Nadler's vocals at just a close enough distance to be a threat. The lyrics here are some of her most tragic, and while this track is super slow, it's filled with suspense and pressure and is a fantastic slow burning folk song. The atmosphere on some of these tracks is absolutely suffocating, a feeling I haven't gotten from a folk album since I can't even remember. "Nothing Feels The Same", following some of the album's weaker moments, is a total overhaul in the best way. Everything here is fantastic, with powerful instrumentals, interesting lyrical moments, and almost a James Bond theme feel. Now while this track has it's dark moments, this almost has a triumphant feel to it, almost like whatever has been chasing after Nadler this entire album has finally ceased. The guitar licks are fantastic, and the drums are subtle but really well placed for creating a little tension. "Nothing Feels The Same" is short, but it's just what I want to hear. Finally we have the album's closing track, "Dissolve". Right off the bat this one is much more folk driven, and that heavy hulking atmosphere isn't here at all. Honestly though, it works wonderfully here. This may sound like some of her earlier stuff, but I mean that in the best way. Listening to "Dissolve" just gives me that warm fuzzy feeling I got from her last studio albums. No, it's not the most breathtaking moment here. However as a conclusion, it works wonderfully.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBzjxg960s8
Rating: 8.6/10
Give A Listen To: "Katie I Know", "Skyscraper", "Janie In Love", "Nothing Feels The Same"
Overall Thoughts: Listening to the tracks leading up to this album here, it was clear that this was Marissa Nadler's most rock oriented album. The heavy instrumentation here up against Nadler's angelic vocals really makes for an overwhelming album. The atmosphere here is key, as Nadler's sweet, airy folk ballads get a dark twist. Listening to this album you really don't know what you're going to hear next, and I can't help but to eat it all up.
Strangers starts off with ""Divers Of The Dust", right off the bat Marissa gives off that warm feeling, but this time in a much more spacious environment. In the past, Nadler's performances have been very intimate. Here, while the instrumentals don't show it just yet, she seems to have a whole lot of room to breath. Her sound here is much grander, a whole lot more massive even though this track could have easily ended up on one of her earlier releases. Nadler's voice sounds absolutely heavenly, and her vivid lyrical performance is as stunning as ever. The piano's here are warm, and those distant strings really give this track just so much room to breathe. "Divers Of The Dust" may be short, but it's a great intro. It shows how massive Marissa Nadler's sound has become. Now, in the past she's toyed with a dark atmosphere from time to time, but hell I feel like everyone has. This intro is no different, hell there's almost a slight Gothic feeling, almost similar to some of the material on Chelsea Wolfe's last album "Abyss". Like I said, ""Divers Of The Dust" is nothing monumental, but it sets the tone of the rest of "Strangers" wonderfully. Up next is "Katie I Know", which continues to have an absolutely gigantic sound. Right off the bat we have folky guitars, which turn actually creepy as soon as Nadler's first verse arrives. Her vocal's here are almost hypnotizing, as the thick atmosphere of "Katie I Know" continues to grow and grow. When the chorus hits, it's almost tear jerking. No matter how dark these tracks can get, there isn't a minute that goes by where Nadler's music isn't elegant. The string section here is powerful, while Nadler's vocals remain airy and haunting, "Katie I Know" is really pretty damn overwhelming. Now maybe it's all the horror movies I've watched in my life, but I can't help but shake how dark some of these moments are, and I can easily see this played over some twisted rendition of Little Red Riding Hood or something. Every moment of "Katie I Know" is breathtaking, and not a single second is wasted. Up next is "Skyskraper". Right off the bat, there's a little more country sound in the guitars. It's still more folk than anything though. However, once Nadler's vocals come in, everything changes. The atmosphere here is just so suffocating, and the multi-layered effects on Nadler give this an even darker feel than previous tracks. However, as dark as some of these tracks may sound, it never feels tense or "scary". No, the darkness here on these tracks strangely sounds warm and inviting. Nadler has always made really decent atmosphere's in the past. But this, this is just overwhelming. For a folk record, everything is just so heavy. "Skyscraper" continues on with its haunting beauty, and even features a thick drone at one point. This track ends up being one of the album's most surreal tracks. It's so dark, it feels like a really strange dream that's a cross between nice and a nightmare, and I love every second. All of these elements continue through most of the album, take for example the warm "All The Colors Of The Dark". Her voice here is absolutely mesmerizing, as soon as her verse starts I just want to sit and listen to everything she says. But this is a great example of how great her music can still be even if it's not necessarily as dark as other moments here. "All The Colors Of The Dark" is absolutely gorgeous. Instrumentally this one is almost lullaby-ish, it's bizarre and strange, but also haunting and beautiful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6YIdLY9J7g
While the majority of the moments here follow along with the first set of tracks discussed, there are a few tracks that strip down the whole atmosphere and go straight up folk tune on us. Sadly, these tracks really aren't as effective. Take for example "Hungry is The Ghost". For a track with such an ominous title, it's the sunniest sounding track here. Now the track is as big sounding as other and is still dreamy, but the atmosphere besides that is just dead. The track takes so long to get going, and the atmosphere is just so wrong. I'm not saying I don't like her stuff when it's not dark. But seriously this feels like it could've been penned by any faceless indie folk artist. The drums in the background are so sluggish, it's just so boring. However, Nadler still sounds just as heavenly and the piano licks are fantastic. "Waking" starts great with instrumentals so thick you think they're going to consume her. The main problem here though is how short it feels. This track literally comes off as so incomplete, and it's a shame because lyrically it's absolutely stunning. As soon as "Waking"'s atmosphere becomes fully realized, the tracks over, what a bummer. "Shadow Show Diane" once again has a very stripped down folk sound, but this one just really feels out of place. Some of the earlier tracks on here literally transported you inside the track. "Shadow Show Diane" feels like it would have been much more at home on an earlier Nadler release.
Don't worry though, the majority of the material here is more than entertaining. Take for example the album's title track, "Strangers". Some of the guitar licks here are drifting into almost Psychedelic territory. This album as a whole clearly is Nadler's most rock oriented work, and this track is a great example of it. Everything about the sound here is mesmerizing, from the weeping guitars floating through the background, to the distorted fuzz floating right under Nadler's absolutely angelic performance. I'm absolutely in love with the atmosphere of this album, everything about it just makes this sound like one big dark fairy tale told by way of folk songs. Up next we have one of the album's earliest released tracks here, "Janie in Love". This one doesn't waste a single second as the folky guitars float in and Nadler's siren song begins once again. The chorus here is so hypnotizing, with the darkness in this track trailing Nadler's vocals at just a close enough distance to be a threat. The lyrics here are some of her most tragic, and while this track is super slow, it's filled with suspense and pressure and is a fantastic slow burning folk song. The atmosphere on some of these tracks is absolutely suffocating, a feeling I haven't gotten from a folk album since I can't even remember. "Nothing Feels The Same", following some of the album's weaker moments, is a total overhaul in the best way. Everything here is fantastic, with powerful instrumentals, interesting lyrical moments, and almost a James Bond theme feel. Now while this track has it's dark moments, this almost has a triumphant feel to it, almost like whatever has been chasing after Nadler this entire album has finally ceased. The guitar licks are fantastic, and the drums are subtle but really well placed for creating a little tension. "Nothing Feels The Same" is short, but it's just what I want to hear. Finally we have the album's closing track, "Dissolve". Right off the bat this one is much more folk driven, and that heavy hulking atmosphere isn't here at all. Honestly though, it works wonderfully here. This may sound like some of her earlier stuff, but I mean that in the best way. Listening to "Dissolve" just gives me that warm fuzzy feeling I got from her last studio albums. No, it's not the most breathtaking moment here. However as a conclusion, it works wonderfully.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBzjxg960s8
Rating: 8.6/10
Give A Listen To: "Katie I Know", "Skyscraper", "Janie In Love", "Nothing Feels The Same"
Overall Thoughts: Listening to the tracks leading up to this album here, it was clear that this was Marissa Nadler's most rock oriented album. The heavy instrumentation here up against Nadler's angelic vocals really makes for an overwhelming album. The atmosphere here is key, as Nadler's sweet, airy folk ballads get a dark twist. Listening to this album you really don't know what you're going to hear next, and I can't help but to eat it all up.
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