Marissa Nadler follows up her last album The Path Of The Clouds and its companion piece EP The Wrath Of The Clouds, with her new album New Radiations (her tenth full length album and first in four years) and it sees the songwriter/chanteuse return with another collection of complete dreamlike beauty from start to finish, with a crucial elements of rawness and vulnerability in there as well.
As always, Nadler’s voice is the centrepiece as they glide along the tender music they accompany and the albums opening songs ‘It Hits Harder’ and ‘Bad Dreams Summertime’ set the standard early, with the hazy and sublime vibes that will capture your enchantment intensely and instantly.
From then on in, the majesty continues with tracks like ‘Smoke Screen Selene’ and ‘New Radiations’ blessing your ears with a perfect merging of vocals and music as Marissa Nadler lays her soul out there in the most passionate fashion and it doesn’t stop there as track after track sees the singer entrance at every turn as her vocals capture your soul as every single one is sung beautifully.
The one-two of ‘Hatchet Man’ and ‘Light Years’ add a notable element of understated darkness to proceedings and it works very well, in doing so though, both of these songs don’t sound out of place and that is testament to the artistry of Marissa Nadler and what she has done with New Radiations.
As the album concludes with ‘Weightless Above The Water’, ‘To Be The Moon King’ and finally ‘Sad Satellite’, it is done so on a high note and the atmospheric nature of this record shines through triumphantly, and you have been swept away in its elegant nature.
Ultimately, there is a sheer warmness that shines throughout New Radiations and it sees Marissa Nadler at her best, with her vocals in stirring form from start to finish. And with the music laying down faultless soundscapes for those vocals to soar, it really is a match made in heaven on an album that will capture your soul and your heart in tandem.
