PERFUMED AIR | Marissa Nadler

GHOST IN THE ROOM: ‘Haunting’ is an often over-used descriptive reviewers like to use when writing about low-key, lush music. But in the case of Marissa Nadler’s new track, “Daisy, Where Did You Go?”, it’s certainly apropos. There’s a unique duality to Nadler’s music. She is blessed with a voice both earth-rich and heavenly. Her music is the meeting place for a flower’s growth and the grave’s end. Nadler is more than a classic folk voice. Her vocals linger, like perfume in a room, long after the song has finished. It’s not surprising that Nadler once studied art and old-world painting in college. Now she paints melodies with her voice like moonlight paints pavement.

The guitar-picking on “Daisy, Where Did You Go?” is quick and melodic, with Nadler playing bass notes with her thumb and syncopated rhythms with her index finger. The mood of the song is melancholic. It’s dusty with age, and built on a dark sort of Americana mythology. Nadler sings these lyrics about loss, “Inside the room / A cold wind is bloom / There are two of us here, / That I know / Daisy, where did you go?” This song is a sequel to her track, “The Story of Daisy and Violet” (from her tour CD “Ivy and Clovers”), about real-life conjoined twins. The Hilton girls were part of various sideshow acts throughout the first quarter of the 20th century. The myth is that Daisy died first, living without her sister for two days, before her own death. Even though that’s likely untrue, it’s a beautiful place for Nadler to begin a touching re-imagining of what it means to lose someone.

Nadler will be playing shows with Sharon Van Etten starting in September. One can only imagine hearing the two in their own sort of conjunction. It’s a can’t miss concert. Hearing Nadler sing “All Love Must Die” only to be followed up by Van Etten singing “Love More”, would be a grand musical overload. Nadler’s new song follows on the heels of her 2009 LP “Little Hells” and her version of “All My Trials” on the compilation, “Beautiful Star: The Songs of Odetta”. Follow Nadler at her blog here or listen to more songs at ReverbNation. Note: Photo taken by Daniel Daskivich, altered by David D. Robbins Jr. – Words by David D. Robbins Jr.

Marissa Nadler “Daisy, Where Did You Go?”

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