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Interview: Marissa Nadler Discovers Strength in Restraint on ‘New Radiations’ - Atwood Magazine

Interview: Marissa Nadler Discovers Strength in Restraint on ‘New Radiations’ - Atwood Magazine

      Exchanging lush arrangements for raw intimacy, Marissa Nadler’s tenth album ‘New Radiations’ crystallizes heartbreak, myth, and memory into something hauntingly straightforward.

      For her tenth studio effort, New Radiations, Marissa Nadler pares down her music to its most fundamental components, exposing a realm of faded recollections, unvoiced regrets, and subtle resilience.

      This self-produced and deeply personal album potentially offers the clearest insight into the essence of Nadler’s songwriting yet—heartbreak, myth, and escape combined into something immediate and unembellished.

      “I’ve devoted a considerable amount of time over the past few years to refining my recording abilities,” Nadler shares. “It's been greatly fulfilling. The songs ended up being closer to my original concepts without much external influence.”

      This creative independence proves highly beneficial. Unlike her earlier records that gleamed with rich arrangements and gothic splendor, New Radiations derives its strength from minimalism. Acoustic guitar, ethereal synths, and muddled textures quietly surround her voice—still enchanting and unmistakable, yet somehow even more vulnerable. Influenced partially by the stark beauty of albums like Nebraska and Blue, Nadler sought to create something simpler, yet still impactful.

      “I want my songs to transport both myself and listeners to various times, places, and realms,” she states. “The songs often serve as vignettes or stories, and stories contain details.”

      On New Radiations, those narratives are rich in vivid imagery—spaceships, motel murders, goddesses, and satellites—but are always anchored in emotion. It’s an album that traverses both real and imagined worlds, with only Nadler’s voice and the weight of lived experiences providing a tether.

      :: stream/purchase New Radiations here ::

      :: connect with Marissa Nadler here ::

      Marissa Nadler © Ebru Yildiz

      **Inside New Radiations**

      “It Hits Harder”

      Atwood Magazine: The opening line “I will fly around the world just to forget you” is incredibly potent. Was that the original starting point for the song or something that unfolded later?

      Marissa Nadler: Thank you. In this instance, it was the initial spark for the song. I was inspired by a few different aviators—just the idea of soaring into the sky. The song isn't about flying, but rather about a great escape. I created the guitar part a while back, and that's where the lyrics began.

      There’s an escape theme in the lyrics—travel, distance, forgetting—but the sound suggests being trapped in a memory. Was that the tension you aimed to explore?

      Marissa Nadler: Yes. Through these songs, I'm definitely processing some of my personal memories, relationships, and individuals I've known.

      “Bad Dreams Summertime”

      Have you performed this one live yet? I can imagine the line “Right place but wrong time to scream” resonates powerfully in a live setting—it seems like one of those cathartic lines that audiences might want to shout back.

      Marissa Nadler: I haven’t played it live yet. The first performance will be at the Rough Trade Below NYC record release on August 16th. I'm excited to share all of these songs live.

      “You Called Her Camellia”

      The lyrics are filled with regret. Can you reveal who this song is about without going into too much detail?

      Marissa: It’s a heartbreak song—reflecting on what remains. I envisioned a lonely old man replaying the past, unable to move forward, stuck in his memories of Camellia. “This wasn’t the deal”—it reflects the risk we all take when we open ourselves to love, which can sometimes fall apart.

      “Smoke Screen Selene”

      There’s an impactful line, “Don’t let her destroy you like I did.” It sounds drenched in guilt, perhaps even a warning. Can you discuss the origin of that lyric and who Selene represents in the song?

      Marissa Nadler: It’s a personal song. I often use names and characters as lyrical tools, whether I’m referencing my own life or something fictional. The boundaries between reality and imagination often blur in my work, but this one is rooted in firsthand experience.

      Is Selene, the moon goddess from Greek mythology, an intentional reference? Do you often draw upon myth or archetypes when discussing emotional experiences?

      Marissa: That’s what we might call a happy accident in art school! I appreciate that keen observation. Someone, particularly Vish from the Kreative Kulture podcast, pointed out that the first song, “It Hits Harder,” begins in a plane, and in “Bad Dreams Summertime,” there are lines about bracing for impact. I didn't plan it, but the narrative continuity works. He asked if the plane crashed, and while I didn’t intend that, I enjoy how the songs can intertwine as a story

Interview: Marissa Nadler Discovers Strength in Restraint on ‘New Radiations’ - Atwood Magazine Interview: Marissa Nadler Discovers Strength in Restraint on ‘New Radiations’ - Atwood Magazine Interview: Marissa Nadler Discovers Strength in Restraint on ‘New Radiations’ - Atwood Magazine

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Exchanging elaborate compositions for a stark intimacy, Marissa Nadler’s tenth album ‘New Radiations’ transforms heartbreak, myth, and memory into an experience that is strikingly straightforward.