Marissa Nadler at Oslo Hackney

Marissa Nadler
Oslo Hackney, 15 April 2019

The dry ice machine must have been running amok tonight at Oslo because when we walked into the venue it was like entering some mystical land. On one hand it was amusing but on another it was strangely fitting for a Marissa Nadler concert: very moody and the perfect setting for the gothic Ms Nadler to emerge. And with the support act having cancelled, it isn't long before she appears looking every bit like a modern day, folk noir queen version of Morticia Addams.

Nadler has released seven albums no less but I'm only really familiar with her latest For My Crimes. It's also the first time in 15 years, she tells us, that she is playing here without a band, and it's true she does seem a little nervous being on the stage alone but of course still looks very cool in her long blue dress.

Not that she needs some big band though because Nadler's greatest weapon is her voice and live it sounds even more powerful and haunting, swirling around the dry ice and bringing us all into her ethereal world. Most of the songs (thankfully for me) come from the new record starting with For My Crimes and moving through brooding acoustic ballads such as Blue Vapor, Said Goodbye To That Car and, my favourite, I Can't Listen To Gene Clark Anymore, which let's face it is a fantastic title for a breakup song.

Nadler explains that she now bases her songs on real life and her own experiences but for her first

few records she would create little fantasy worlds (and to be fair a lot of her music still sounds like

that) and much to the excitement of some hardcore fans (including one girl who was very vocal throughout the show about her love for Marissa) she played two songs from her first and third records respectively, Fifty Five Walls and Dying Breed.

I was most excited though for her rather lovely and (of course) mournful version of the Fred Neill classic A Little Bit Of Rain.

Nadler seemed to be having trouble with her microphones (she had two: one for her normal vocals and a second for "spooky" sounds) and even her guitar (she joked how she would give anything for a guitar tech tonight) but she seemed to handle it all well, although she appeared uncomfortable talking too much in between songs. 

All in all it was a charming show and Nadler really does have an enchanting voice. That said I can't imagine this will be among by favourite shows this year.