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Marissa Nadler Will Break Your ‘Diamond Heart’

Boston balladeer Marissa Nadler has been grouped with the psych-folk “New Weird America” movement (Joanna Newsom, Devendra Banhart, Animal Collective) since her 2004 debut album, Ballads of Living and Dying. And yet, throughout the 26 year-old’s spooky-goth career trajectory (she once set a Edgar Allen Poe poem to music) — one thing is clear — she has the pipes to make the bizarre sound beautiful. Her third studio long-player, Songs III: Birds on the Water, was issued via the U.K. imprint, Peacefrog, earlier this year, but stateside fans will finally see its domestic release August 7th thanks to Kemado.

On “Diamond Heart” Nadler’s ghostly mezzo-soprano wail is augmented by a peculiar acoustic strumming style and baleful snatches of mandolin — a recipe part Angelo Badalamenti and part Kate Bush. As she remarks on “scattering ashes in the snow” and “my lonely diamond heart,” Nadler paints a picture of a jezebel tortured by a love that will not last — typical fare for someone who studied acid illustration and encaustic painting at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Now Hear This:
Marissa Nadler – “Diamond Heart” STREAMING MP3

On the Web:
Marissa Nadler at MySpace
marissanadler.com

Talk: Is Marissa Nadler’s “Diamond Heart,” a girl’s best friend?

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