CD Review: Marissa Nadler - Songs III: Bird on Water

Marissa Nadler's Songs III: Bird on Water has been a very pleasant surprise to my ears. Every song on the album is comprised of dreamy folk that maintains a very unique sound. Marissa's guitar twiddling and strumming drives each song as she sings with a spooky, yet calming reverb. She is backed by very subtle instrumentation ranging from echoing falsetto guitar to tranquil cello to moaning percussion. There is no doubt that Marissa's beautiful, eerie voice makes the music complete, making this album a great listen.

The album starts off with "Diamond Heart", a melancholic ballad about a person who has been long missing in Marissa's life. The song consists mostly of Marissa's voice and a one-two guitar strum, but during the chorus, a beautiful, somber mandolin comes in that deepens the mood of the song.

"Mexican Summer", the third song of the album, is probably my favorite at this point. It has a really relaxing feel overall. This is made possible by a prancing acoustic guitar and a quiet, echoing electric all being moved by Marissa's longing to be in love again. There is a nice, subtle Latin guitar that comes in during the bridge. After that, the song continues in it's normal spacey-dream feel.

Another song that stands out to me on this album is "Bird On Your Grave". It maintains the usual mysterious, spacey qualities, but there's this amazing heavy guitar solo halfway through the song that takes my mind by storm. The heavy guitar completely owns my soul in this song. It's an interesting decision for a folk/Americana artist, but it works so well for setting the mood of the song. I remember being very taken when I first heard the song.

A few other songs that stick out are "My Love and I" with a creepy background synthesizer, "Famous Blue Raincoat", which is a Leonard Cohen cover (very well done, my floormate comments), and "Thinking of You" with an elegant cello playing in the background.

There are too many good things to be said about this album. Like I said before, though the entire album is built upon the twiddling and strumming of Marissa's acoustic guitar, there is a lot that builds off from the acoustic. I give Marissa a lot of respect for layering all of the other instruments to make these beautiful compositions. My only complaint is that the strumming may get a little repetitive at times, but looking at the album as a whole, I am very satisfied with it. I give this album an 8 out of 10.

Marissa Nadler will be playing at The Space tonight in Portland at 9. This is an 18+ show, so I suggest all you hip, young adults go out tonight and see how she performs live. It should be a great show! See you there!