MARISSA NADLER

The Sister

[Box of Cedar]

Marissa Nadler’s sixth album is a melancholic companion to the self-titled effort she released last year. This time out, the arrangements are more ethereal, and the songs are tinged with a greater degree of sadness, particularly where her voice is concerned. Her woeful vocals are filled with sincerity and lacking in self-pity, and while her spritely voice and fingerpicked guitar remain focal points, Nadler employs various sparse and ambient tones. Her vocal overdubs and harmonies are always gentle, even on those rare occasions when she makes strategic use of a simple snare drum. Nadler also has an uncanny understanding of how synthesizers can provide subtle accompaniment—especially when paired with her ghostlier backing vocals. But it isn’t all gloom, and the wistfulness of “Constantine” and the almost joyful vocals on “To a Road, Love” serve as reminders that sadness is a necessary feature of this music. It doesn’t define Nadler as a musician. –Amanda Farah

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