Marissa Nadler – “Little Hells” – [Kemado Records]

humana   3/1/2009   A Library, CD

Dream folk: Marissa Nadler???s unmistakable soprano vocals come lilting on a wind of surreal, haunting bliss on her fourth full-length release. It flows along on the river of notes from her acoustic guitar, telling beautiful, sad tales. Most of the songs are very simply set to piano, guitar, or organ, but drums and lap steel, synth, theremin, and other guitars join in quite nicely at times, especially on 3, where the drum adds a heartbeat to make ???Mary Come Alive???. As Nadler sings in 7, ???I???m more than blue, I???m violet.??? Gorgeous lyrics, melancholy vocals, heartwrenching melodies–truly Nadler at her best.
PGM: 1 and 9 end at :03; 2 and 5 at :09; 6 and 10 at :06.
Picks: 3, 4, 7, 8, 10.