Floating over cosmic terrors and earthly woes.
It has been said that truly great artists can’t help but capture the spirit of their times. In recent years, it seems that a greater number of artists are tapping into our turbulent zeitgeist, consciously or otherwise. And although loss and chaos are among the themes that imbue Marissa Nadler’s latest work, “New Radiations” (the prolific artist’s tenth studio album thus far), it goes further than mere representation and paints a unique worldview. Much like a David Lynch film, her most recent songs expose the world’s darkness, the kind that hides in plain sight, like an air current you feel but fail to see. There are terrors both cosmic and grounded perceived through attentive observation, thanks to which haunting associations are made, like those found in the title track:
“Psychic sensations (you know you saw) / New radiations have taken their toll on me / I was retracing the lines of a memory”
Through her ability to channel personal experiences, pure creativity, and diverse interests, Nadler creates otherworldly narratives voiced through a variety of characters and points of view. Her knowledge of visual arts (as well as painting, she can be credited with shooting and directing the music videos for the album’s first two singles) seems like an influence on her music, enriched by the otherworldly mental images it’s liable to evoke. A quick look at her artwork will testify to a shared origin.
“New Radiations” is also marked by the recurring idea of flying, as well as that of constant motion. ‘It Hits Harder’ finds its inspiration in the story of the first woman to fly solo around the world, Geraldine Mock; ‘Weightless Above the Water’ in that of Valentina Tereshkova, the first female cosmonaut to journey into space; and ‘To Be The Moon King’ is loosely based on Robert Goddard, considered the father of modern rocketry for his invention of the first liquid-fuel rocket. Previously unsurpassed barriers are broken by driven individuals advancing through time and space, alone yet connected to other people and the world in peculiar ways. There are also plenty of references to other modes of transport and travelling, as if it were movement itself that breathes life into the album’s narrators. Regardless of the personal resonance this might have with Nadler, it can be seen as the solitary lifelong mission of the artist, the inventor. Of course, the results of these toils are often fuelled by human connection, and these are liable to break down. In this sense, the album’s opening words befit its general themes:
“I will fly around the world just to forget you”
On the other hand, there are tracks that seem more like sinister lullabies, in which Nadler’s soothing sound is juxtaposed with eerie lyrics and dark melodic progressions. You’re often unsure if you’re drifting off into serene reverie or descending into a nightmare. It’s the case with ‘Hatchet Man’, among others, in which you might feel delightedly disturbed upon hearing lines such as:
“The angel made him do it, and he made me watch / He thought no one would notice her gone”
Unlike some of Nadler’s previous albums, “New Radiations” isn’t as collaborative, though it includes arrangements from long-time associate Milky Burgess. Produced by Nadler and mixed by Randall Dunn, the album’s sound is defined by weightless handpicking and layered instrumentals that include slide guitar, synths and an electric guitar that occasionally plays like rolling thunder beneath Nadler’s rich vocals, whose otherworldliness is enhanced by her own harmonies. The result of all this is one of Nadler’s best albums to date.
