Review: Marissa Nadler :: Little Hells (2009)

Review: Marissa Nadler :: Little Hells (2009)

8.1/10
I will go out on a limb here and say that Marissa Nadler has the most hauntingly beautiful voice in contemporary folk music. In her early discography, it was this voice that carried the songs; like a female Leonard Cohen, her melodies swooped and dropped atop a 12-string acoustic, and little else was needed. On her new album, Little Hells, Nadler's atmospheric vocals now float above a charming alt-country band, and it works.
The album opens with the dreary but wonderful "Heartpaper Lover". Any fan will notice immediately the lack of guitar; A Rhodes piano mimics Nadler's guitar style, providing a repetitive wave above which her voice floats. This melancholy sound continues in "Rosary" where sparse instrumentation and a lazy waltz perfectly compliment Nadler's haunting catholic-ish lyrics.
While the first three tracks illustrate Nadler's new direction, the strongest song on the album, "Little Hells", returns to the folk songstress timbre: voice and guitar. Though short, the title track features a simple and beautiful melody that is actually (gasp!) somewhat uplifting.
Not to fear though, Nadler returns to her old gothic self on "Ghosts & Lovers". "Ghosts and Lovers, they will haunt you for a while," she sings.

http://www.threeimaginarygirls.com/recordreview/2009mar/littlehells