Marissa Nadler – “All the Colors of the Dark” (Singles Going Steady)

Pryor Stroud: Somewhere between the dreamy folk-fiction of Joni Mitchell and the cine-pop balladry of Lana Del Ray, “All the Colors in the Dark” is a concentrated swath of emotionally charged atmosphere. It creates a sense of place that is concrete and vividly present: it’s summertime, perhaps the exact same season that sent Lana into a depression, but the sun refuses to ascend, leaving Nadler in a dystopian night-world where the light that used to arouse so many memories for her has gone seemingly extinct. The ponderous, step-after-step organ motif sounds like her passage down an overshadowed path — during certain pauses, you can almost hear her look over her shoulder, hoping for some sort of color to finally break through the shade. [7/10]

Emmanuel Elone: Marissa Nadler certainly brings some gorgeous vocals to “All the Colors of the Dark”, but the song still remains uninteresting for some reason. The simple folk notes playing in the background are nice, and the shift towards the orchestral string section towards the midway point of the song is nothing short of stunning. However, I can’t help but feel as if Nadler is copying Lana del Rey’s style, since this song sounds almost like Lana’s “Video Games” song in a sense. At the same time, though, Lana’s stole her style from the ’60s, so it’s possible that Nadler and Lana are pulling from the same musical basket. Either way, “All the Colors of the Dark” sounds too sleepy to make for an enthralling listen, even if almost every element of the song itself is downright beautiful. [5/10]

Chris Ingalls: Beautiful, ethereal, and both haunting and reassuring, Nadler’s latest single takes her dreamy vocalizing and places it on a lovely bed of electric piano, drum machine and strings that waft in and out at the right time. The hazy, lazy production by Randall Dunn is what you’d expect from someone who’s worked on albums by Sunn 0))) and Black Mountain. Delicate, desolate, and gorgeous. [7/10]

Chad Miller: It’s probably not fair to compare Nadler to Lana Del Rey due to how much longer Nadler’s been around, but stylistically and vocally, it’s all very similar. The melody is beautiful, and the lyrics are very fitting with lines like “This is not your world anymore”. The name of the song is similarly fitting as the song sounds like an attempt to find light from the darkness. It’s gorgeous and wholly significant all around. [8/10]

Steve Horowitz: The song moves too slowly for me, but I can imagine a listener captured by its lethargic charms. To sleep is to dream, but the colors of the dark are as gray this song. The video suggests the ambiance of living in a black and white universe, but this misses too much. [4/10]

Morgan Y. Evans: Tool “Prison Sex” unnerving stop motion for semi-demure fairies via rustic New England vibes and lonely looks through window panes. Respectfully bird-like heart haunting and one of the best choruses yet from Marissa, increasingly capturing the balance of restraint and release that make her live shows can’t miss affairs. Her songs and videos flirt with a diary’s sensibility or an antique picture book in goth heaven where it’s ok to have regrets because even crying over spilled ink means you maybe got some rorschach art or a song out of it. [8/10]

John Bergstrom: Is it pretty, creepy, or pretty creepy? How about all three? If anyone you know calls this their “jam”, keep a very close eye on them. [6/10]

Marissa Nadler’s new album Strangers releases May 20th.

SCORE: 6.43