Marissa Nadler - Little Hells (2009)

It's always been easy to be swept away by the sheer atmospheric eeriness of Boston songstress Marissa Nadler's music while foolishly overlooking her strong gothic storytelling. On her new album Little Hells, which is set for release on March 3rd, not only is Nadler's otherworldly voice on full display in its equally beautiful and unnerving state, but her songwriting is at its most sharpened and visceral. While the arrangements on Little Hells vary from involved and heavily layered to stripped-down acoustically focused fare such as the title track, Nadler's voice is always the most important instrument. Nadler tinkers with more of a full-band sound on Little Hells, and there's no better example of this than "River Of Dirt," a song built on driving drums and a rolling bass riff. Nadler muses on the concept of mortality, repeating the line: "take me back to the river of dirt." Mortality never sounded so catchy. Another highlight is album-closer "Mistress," an entrancing country-tinged track that benefits immensely from echoey slide-guitar. There's not a throwaway track on Little Hells, which plays out to be Nadler's most focused release to date. -- Capt. Obvious

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Marissa Nadler - The Hole is Wide from Cameraphonic on Vimeo.