Marissa Nadler‘s set at 826 Boston this last Friday was short but hauntingly beautiful (like one of those little spinning ballerina things your Mom had in her room as a kid). Her two song set was at the tail end of an evening of literary entertainment put together by McSweeney’s and The Rumpus as a benefit for 826 Boston, a non-profit tutoring and writing center for young students in Roxbury.
Although she was the only musician performing that night, Marissa Nadler’s music did not seem out of place amongst the other entertainment of the evening which included readings of humorous, semi-improvised short stories as well as readings of a more serious nature dealing with slavery in America, Haitian Zombies, and more. She has a style of playing that’s minimal (it’s just her and an acoustic guitar with few effects), but she has a full sound and the overall impression is more “refined” than “simple”.
She has a very natural sounding voice which glides through sepia-toned folk melodies easily and unaffectedly, and her guitar style (utilizing a lovely 12 string Martin) is that classic combination of alternate bass picking and chiming high strings that pairs so well with a lone voice. Basically, if you were standing on a barren windswept hill in the dead of winter somewhere in New England and looking dramatically into the distance, this is the music that would be playing in the background.
Although there are other musicians who work in a similar style, Marissa Nadler certainly has enough natural talent and lyrical gifts to carry the audience along with her into the evocative realm of her music. If you’re in the mood for some nice melancholy folk music around Boston, check her out.