Like Jack Rose, the weirdest thing about Marissa Nadler's folk is its deft use of traditional forms, as shown on her beautiful sophomore LP The Saga of Mayflower May. Sounding as if straight out of the Renaissance Faire, Nadler's gentle, nimble guitar picking and soft, womanly voice make her music relaxing, comforting, and utterly enjoyable. Full of forlorn sentiment, Nadler's words are like tear-stained letters found in your grandmother's attic, as if written by some Jane Austen character.
Like much traditional female folk music, her voice does have a tendency to sound matronly. For example, in "Famous Song" her diaphragm uses its full force on each note. It makes me picture some scene from a costume drama where the cocktail party surrounds one of the women and watches her sing a jovial ballad. Such a style can be offputting, and while Nadler approaches it two or three times on the album, usually the sound is much more intimate, and the feel is much more current (or perhaps timeless).
"Mr. John Lee" is one of those songs. Voice is the key instrument in this song, floating on top of rhythm from a guitar and a little warmth from an organ, and the sound epitomizes the word "intimacy." Nadler's voice feels much warmer and less affected. She sings of cutting off an affair with a married man, showing both tenderness and a strong will, recalling all the compliments and shared moments but concluding "I did not love you quite as well as your darling, loving wife."
While voice is the lead instrument in "Mr. John Lee," that is not the norm for this album, and Nadler's skill at the guitar cannot be discounted. She makes great use of repetition, casting her spell in short one or two bar phrases of quickly picked notes, then meditating on them, subtly changing chords. Other instruments are also effectively used in small doses to add bursts of color. While the vocals of "Famous Song" are distracting, the flute outro on the song really brings out the beautiful melody of the song. Piano is also used quite effectively, like in "Old Love Haunts," blending wonderfully with Nadler's cooing vocal melody.
The Saga of Mayflower May is haunting and beautiful (and hauntingly beautiful). Naddler's songs wisp in with the breeze like near forgotten memories of long lost loves, her voice portraying confidence and lending her tales of woe a soothing sense of acceptance.
