15. August 2025
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Media Review

Marissa Nadler – New Radiations

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

Marissa Nadler - New Radiations

Marissa Nadler - New Radiations
4.7

Rating

 4.7/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Lovely storytelling
  • Very clear concept and consistent atmosphere
  • Characteristic style

In February 2022, I featured Marissa Nadler’s EP The Wrath Of The Clouds. Over three years later, she is back on Flyctory.com. On 15th August 2025, she published her new album New Radiations. Let’s have a listen to this one.

 

Marissa Nadler – About The Artist

Marissa Nadler is a US-American singer, guitarist – and painter. She was born on 5th April 1981 in Washington DC. Nowadays, she is based in Boston. Her family is doing several disciplines of arts. In teenage years, she started learning to play the guitar, before she turned into a professional musician in 2000. Her arts career, which also included wood craving, was always in parallel. Nadler’s discography is rather long. This is especially due to the fact that she self-released albums in parallel to her record deal. New Radiations is her twelfth professionally marketed studio album overall.

 

Marissa Nadler – New Radiations – Track by Track

The eleven track album lasts 46 minutes.

1. It Hits Harder

I will fly around the world just to forget you
Try not to hit the mountains as I pass through
Blinded by sandstorms no sight of the land below
My little Cessna’s due west and I had to go

The opener of New Radiation is inspired by Geraldine Mock. The Ohio aviation legend is the first women to fly around the world in a solo airplane. The song comes with the typical Marissa Nadler dream-folk style, which creates a very gentle atmosphere. It Hits Harder is a nice song, whose message goes way beyond historical fact telling.

2. Bad Dreams Summertime

Together with the album, I received a really informative and detailed press kit. About the second song, Bad Dreams Summertime, it quotes Nadler as follows: [the song] is a sweet melody but also a dystopian ditty of the world falling apart, with tinges of doo-op background vocals thinly veiling the sinister lyrical undertones. This feels even more impressing than the song itself. There are some nostalgic feelings in it – but overall, it fascinates by the intimate reflection of the artist.

3. You Called Her Camellia

The melody of You Called Her Camellia has some country vibes. The song strikes with beautiful storytelling. Apart from the melodic twist, the song majorly strikes with its beautiful lyrical qualities. It is simply working out – and you enjoy listening to Nadler.

She is on the desert track twisting the throttle
Always wanted to go fast, well she got to
You know she loved you but it all changed
All that you ever wanted for her way to stay
Just to be near her to hear her for one more day
You called her Camellia
This wasn’t the deal, her fading away

4. Smoke Screen Selene

The fourth track starts with a darker, frightening atmosphere. In line with that, the opening lyrics are I can never go back ’cause its too hard to see you. The gentle touch in Marissa Nadler’s voice seems to dampen that mood – but overall, the song stays very thoughtful and has a rather meditative touch.

5. New Radiations

The title track has been one of the two songs released before the New Radiations album release. Especially after listening to Smoke Screen Selene, the song has a very melodic touch, presenting folk and slight rock attitude. The press kit states the song is about feeling stuck, depressed, frozen in a world after a tough few years for the world. You won’t find too many happy vibes in this album, the grey-ish moments feel to be colorful. But that also spreads a lot of fascinating during the listen.

6. If It’s An Illusion

A key element of the arrangement of the album is a strong reverb on the vocals. This increases the dreaming, thoughtful and intimate character of the song. The more, you recognize when this is missing in songs like If It’s An Illusion. It is even mentioned explicitly in the press notes. The intimate atmosphere of Marissa Nadler stays. I feel that she is even closer, more fragile in this song.

7. Hatchet Man

The other feature single release of New Radiations is Hatchet Man. The song is about a man dating a lady and taking her home not for the reason of love. The outline of my hatchet man was backlit in the door, I wish I could have saved her as the engine roared. The song contrasts with relatively harmonic sounds and the straight and dark murder story. It feels being a perfect fit into the set of stories of this album.

8. Light Years

Back in the day you were all the rage
When you could still hypnotize her
Rockets and planes and through hurricanes
Fused to the sight of her fire
You used to see light years inside her
You used to be right there beside her

The storybook of New Radiations is not a book of happy stories. Light Years is a song about fading love. It almost feels needless to say that this nicely fits into Marissa Nadler’s work and her album.

9. Weightless Above The Water

The ninth track is another song inspired by a female pioneer. In Weightless Above The Water, Nadler reflects about Valentina Tereshkova. The Russian was the first lady in space in 1963. The picturesque storytelling includes phrases like The sky took it’s hat off, this spaceship became my home, but also Had no fear of dying in flames of crimson. A very reflected and balanced view, which is one of the best narratives of this album.

10. To Be The Moon King

Another song inspired by a historic person, another song dealing with space travel somehow. When writing To Be The Moon King, Nadler reflected about Robert Goddard, who was one of the key scientists in the beginning of rocketry. His work got honored rather posthumously – and now, there is an additional, musical, merit for him.

Trying to see what he wanted me to see then
It was finally spring when he found a new dimension
Building rockets behind his house
Crows over his head
To be the moon king
Rising, something more than dead

11. Sad Satellite

The album closes with Sad Satellite. With 5.36 minutes, Nadler put her longest track of the album to the end. The song is not dedicated to a certain person, even though it is a farewell song. prefer to let
listeners find their own stories within the lyrics, the press notes quote the artist. And I enjoy that thought – and the music – at the end of the album.

 

Marissa Nadler – New Radiations – Spotify

Here is the album on Spotify:

 

Marissa Nadler – New Radiations – My View

Don’t go for this album if you feel like listening to some uplifting music. New Radiations is simply not delivering that. If you are relaxed, a bit of mental and feel like enjoying 46 minutes of thoughtful, well-told and deep musical stories, this one is an excellent choice. A great one illustrating Marissa Nadler’s amazing talent.

Favorite Song: Weightless Above The Water

 

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