Marissa Nadler

Marissa Nadler, an American singer and songwriter, fuses traditional folk, Gothic Americana, dreamy pop, and noir-ish rock into her singular style. Her idiosyncratic approach carries a distinctive imprint through its sparseness and interiority, yet it reveals haunted landscapes that attract listeners across indie folk and black metal circles. Although her earliest releases earned praise for their minimal instrumentation, Songs III: Bird on the Water from 2007 introduced her to worldwide audiences and attracted notice from artists as varied as black metallers Xasthur and indie rockers Xiu Xiu. With the 2016 album Strangers she broadened her songwriting scope, shifting from predominantly first-person confessional narratives toward character-driven, episodic tales. She further tilted the sonic balance toward electric elements such as guitars and atmospheric synths on the self-produced The Path of the Clouds in 2021, which featured contributions from members of Mercury Rev, Black Mountain, and Lost Horizons.

Growing up in a small Massachusetts town, Nadler first pursued painting—a pursuit she maintains—yet her passion for music led her to master guitar and songcraft. Her initial recordings, Ballads of Living and Dying (2004, Eclipse) and The Saga of Mayflower May (2005, Eclipse), remained largely acoustic, showcasing her mezzo-soprano voice and guitar alongside banjo, bells, and penny whistle. On Songs III: Bird on the Water (2007, Peacefrog, Kemado) she introduced synthesizers for the first time, along with strings and harp. Beginning with 2009’s Little Hells she expanded her palette to encompass percussion, pianos, Wurlitzer, and conventional rock instrumentation. Constant touring brought international recognition for both her records and live performances. In 2010 she surprised listeners by supplying the vocal chorus on Portal of Sorrow by the one-man black metal project Xasthur. Shortly afterward she was dropped by Kemado/Mexican Summer, prompting her to finance the next project through a successful crowdfunding effort.

Early in 2011 Nadler issued the single and video “Baby I Will Leave You in the Morning,” drawn from the fan-supported self-titled album that appeared in June on her Box of Cedar Records. She followed the well-received debut with The Sister in May 2012; its arrangements echoed those of its predecessor. After signing with Sacred Bones (distributed by Bella Union) she released July in February 2014, her first project with engineer/producer Randall Dunn. The album included guest appearances by Eyvind Kang and Phil Wandscher and reached the Top 20 on Billboard’s folk and Heatseekers charts. Nadler and Dunn reunited for Strangers, which arrived in May 2016 and emphasized character-driven narratives over autobiographical material. During her 2017 American tour she composed numerous songs exploring the strain distance places on relationships; although she generated three times the material needed, she ultimately favored more concise pieces written in the week before entering the studio. At House of Lux in Laurel Canyon she assembled an ensemble of accomplished female musicians—save for one male saxophonist—drawing on guests such as Sharon Van Etten, Angel Olsen, and harpist Mary Lattimore. The resulting For My Crimes appeared in September 2018 and peaked at number 24 on Billboard’s Top Heatseekers Albums chart. In April 2019 she issued Droneflower, a collaboration with singer/songwriter Stephen Brodsky.

After issuing a third covers collection, the demos set Unearthed, and the ambient album moons—all self-released in 2020—Nadler returned with the collaborative The Path of the Clouds on Sacred Bones in October 2021. Self-produced, the album markedly increased the role of electric components, including distorted guitars and synths. Among its contributors were Lattimore, Bella Union label-runner Simon Raymonde (Cocteau Twins, Lost Horizons), Jesse Chandler (Mercury Rev, Midlake), and Amber Webber (Black Mountain, Lightning Dust).