In the neurasthenia of their adipose cesspool, philosophers who remake the world, traders of miserable schemes, with their meditative syllogisms, repeat their nagging lament until death, concluding by stumbling over the slightest negotiation. Everything is necessary to them and nothing is enough for them.... Yet, it would be a great shame to become accustomed to Marissa's discography without discerning its evolution, the axis of an inexhaustible inspiration.
Marissa Nadler's heavenly voice is unmistakable, carefully nestled within a backdrop of acoustic instruments, where layers of strings and synths encapsulate her folk repertoire. Between light and darkness, New Radiations, released in the middle of summer, is an album to be savoured in the shade, away from the noise of the world, alone. Her silhouette is etched in ice, in crystal, like her soul, which takes up space like a second skin, a scar on the earth.
Since Ballads Of Living And Dying's release in 2004, and in particular the poignant ballad Box of Cedar, which definitively established her as the progenitor of an ethereal and melancholic neo-folk movement inspired by pioneers such as Judee Sill, Sibylle Baier and the little-known Susan Christie, Marissa has not been content to simply repeat herself. To guide you, Hatchet Man will lead you to a refuge like no other, sheltered from the torments that unfold like in a bad film.
Sad Satellite perfectly encapsulates this sombre vision, this slow drift into which our world is sinking. With Fender Rhodes and Moog chords distilled by the immense Randall Dunn (who needs no introduction), it is possible to scratch the surface of modernity's technical prowess with a certain elegance. With all due respect to the leading artists recognised as guitar virtuosos, demonstrating their sterile, superfluous solos, To Be the Moon King returns to what is simplest and most beautiful. For there are few artists who do not bow to current trends and the whims of record companies. It's best to say it straight away: New Radiations is a record of rare depth that will be remembered for years to come. The sublime Light Years, with its flamboyant psaltery strings, is so stunning that no limits seem to alter the imagination of its author, and in this field, she can dare anything.
Those who know my enthusiasm for atypical productions from the misty realms of the mind know how unbearable it is for me to defend the linguistic excesses of a cartel of artists who claim to be misunderstood, perhaps because their art and ambition are too subtle for the idiot on duty who serves as their scapegoat. By affixing a label or slogan, the praise of the mainstream press does nothing to enhance the value of the artist in question. Marissa Nadler embodies the artist whose desire is not to stuff memories, but rather to magnify them.
