CD Review – Marissa Nadler (What Sarah McLachlan wishes she was)
Marissa Nadler
Box of Cedar Records
Upon first listen, Marissa Nadler’s self-titled album is very much like getting transported to that time in your life when you wish you would’ve gone with your gut and asked that girl to the dance. The opening song, “In Your Lair, Bear” is like the end of an episode of The Wonder Years where Kevin wanted to ask Winnie to the dance, but didn’t and he ends up standing in the middle of the hallway in school, all alone while the camera pans out to encompass his emptiness. Yeah, that’s how vivid that song is.
“The Sun Always Reminds Me of You” and “Baby I Will Leave You in the Morning” are devastating in their emotional honesty as Nadler’s atmospheric voice dances around like an angel floating among clouds. This is what Sarah McLachlan could sound like if she traded in her piano for a plucky guitar and attempted emotional connectivity like she did 15-20 years ago. Marissa Nadler fills that void and much more. Anyone looking for that song to describe their emotional confusion will find (at least) one on this album.
