July
(Sacred Bones)
Marissa Nadler’s latest album doesn’t change her formula of writing spare love songs, but July succeeds in delivering a strong batch of tunes that’s more deeply haunting than ever. Produced by Randall Dunn, best known for handling metal bands like Wolves in the Throne Room, Earth, and Sunn O))), the music is swathed in sensitive layers of echo and reverb that make the folky textures feel fresh. Highlights include the opener “Drive,” which describes all-night road trips and sets Nadler’s plaintive voice against gentle skeins of feedback. “Dead City Emily” effectively underlines its gothic lyrics with a circular acoustic guitar pattern, droning organ, and drifting vocals.
On a casual listen, the album might seem too monochromatic, too much a reflection of its ethereal black-and-white cover featuring a shadowy Nadler posed in front of a bright windowpane. But instead of choosing to craft a varied and traditionally well-rounded album, she has decided to fully explore a single mood and wring as much as possible from it. July is successfully saturated with an aching sense of loss and longing, its dark and glittering textures both spooky and beguiling.•
