Fresh off of the release of her great 2018 album For My Crimes, singer-songwriter Marissa Nadler has returned with two new songs.

One of the tracks, “Poison,” features founding member of the Velvet Underground John Cale. Like many Nadler tunes, it features her somber vocals and stark lyrics, this time about a dissolved marriage. A lilting, acoustic, finger-picked guitar figure gives a bit of “pep” in a song that features harsh, unhappy lyrics like “Said I’ve never been happy in my life / and I never will / As your wife.” When Cale joins in, his voice in top shape and perfectly complementary with Nadler’s, they croon together “Are we nothing but / poison.”

How did she prepare for a duet with a music legend? “Sometimes it’s best not to know in advance; that’s what I continually remind myself about how this duet with legendary songwriter John Cale came together,” says Nadler. “Had I known that Justin and Lawrence would arrange for Cale to sing ‘Poison’ with me before I wrote or recorded it, I cannot be certain I wouldn’t have become frozen with hesitations and second-guessing.”

“If We Make It Through The Summer” is upbeat, with more of a full band sound than “Poison.” While sonically it exudes a brighter vibe than the other single, the title alone speaks to the hints of despair in the lyrics. Short and simply arranged, “If We Make It Through The Summer” skips by in just over two minutes.

While these two songs are not included on For My Crimes, they were written at about the same time. The release of these two tracks also marks the first release from a record label called KRO Records, which was created by Justin Raisen, Lawrence Rothman and Yves Rothman.

Marissa Nadler 2019 Tour Dates

03/01 – Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon
03/02 – San Francisco, CA @ Café Du Nord +
03/04 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios +
03/05 – Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern +
03/06 – Vancouver, BC @ Static Jupiter +
04/10 – Groningen, NL @ VERA
04/11 – Antwerp, BE @ De Roma
04/12 – Masstricht, NL @ Museumnacht
04/13 – Genk, BE @ Little Waves Festival
04/14 – Tilburg, NL @ Roadburn Festival
04/15 – London, UK @ Oslo Hackney
04/16 – Brighton, UK @ The Prince Albert
04/18 – Istanbul, TR @ Salon IKSV
04/19 – Istanbul, TR @ Salon IKSV
04/20 – Moscow, RU @ 16 Tons
04/21 – St. Petersburg, RU @ Len Doc
04/23 – Norrmalm, SE @ Nalen Klubb
04/24 – Grunerlokka, NO @ Bla
04/25 – Haga, SE @ Pustervik
04/26 – Malmo, SE @ Babel
04/27 – Hki, FI @ Temppeliaukion Church
04/30 – Katowie, PL @ Palac Mlodz
07/08 – 07/12 – Big Indian, NY @ Frets & Refrains (Richard Thompson & Nancy Covey’s Guitar & Songwriting Camp)

+ w/ Hilary Woods