Shadowy Folk Stylist, Marissa Nadler, Details the Themes of ‘Strangers’

Matt Matasci

For her seventh studio full-length, singer-songwriter Marissa Nadler took a slight thematic deviation from her previous work. While the instrumentation and subject matter on “Strangers” still retains the dark, so-called “gothic” characteristics of her first sixreleases, the Boston-based musician took a more universal approach to her songwriting with this set. “Strangers” has been met by near-universal critical acclaim, with writers praising the record’s open and honest lyricism, and Nadler recently discussed it with EV.

“I’m still talking from a personal place and many of the songs are about people in my life,” Nadler said. “The album touches upon universal themes more than my previous albums, which were very much inspired by love and romance.”

Nadler has expressed that she doesn’t consider this change in perspective to be so much a “shift” as she does an expansion. The lyrical themes on “Strangers,” her second record for New York independent label Sacred Bones, touch on people in her life and their personal stories. This represents a departure from the more insular lyrical focus of her early discography. In addition to the lyrical themes on “Strangers” demonstrating growth, she has also expanded her instrumental approach to music.

“I’ve become extremely interested by my recent expansion into playing more solo guitar,” she said. “So, I kind of imagine my next record taking on the sonic space of my Black Sabbath cover of ‘Solitude.’”

As an artist that built her reputation on folk-oriented sounds that often featured just her and a guitar, “Strangers” imbues that sound with a stronger focus on complex instrumental arrangements. With the assistance of producer Randall Dunn, Nadler has created an album with a fuller sound that appeals to audiences beyond her folk wheelhouse. Transforming these powerful tunes into a live set presents a variety of options and challenges for a musician. Instead of attempting to fully replicate her recorded music into a live setting, she takes what many would consider a more “authentic” approach.

“I try not to think about how I’m going to play the songs live when writing an album,” she said. “The live sets these days are their own things and I’m not someone who recreated albums to perfection for live performances.”

“I’ve yet to get into looping or backing tracks to bring the harmonies because I most enjoy getting together with other singers and having them replicate some choice harmonies for a live setting. I like the intensity of a real live harmony.”

With “Strangers,” Nadler continues her rise from musician that mainly appeals to die-hard alternative folk listeners into one who appeals to a broader base of music fans. Considering the fact that she imagines herself following the path that her cover of Black Sabbath’s “Solitude” began, the future of Nadler’s music promises to be extremely bright, even if aesthetically she sticks to darker hues.