July (album)

July is Marissa Nadler's sixth full-length studio album, released in the UK on February 10, 2014, on Bella Union and in North America on Sacred Bones Records.[1] The album was recorded at Seattle's Avast Studios and produced by Randall Dunn. Meeting with a largely positive reception, it debuted at No. 16 on the Billboard Folk Albums chart and No. 14 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers Albums chart.[2] PopMatters called the album a "triumph" and "one of 2014's best albums so far",[3] while Spin called it a "masterfully composed release".[4] Noisey wrote that "the darkly lit July is a moody trip through heat spells and night drives... Nadler's quiet songwriting and ethereal sound give July a sound that's, at times, almost sinister."[5]

July
UK cover
Studio album by
Marissa Nadler
Released2014
Recorded2013
GenreIndie folk, dream pop
Length46:03
LabelBella Union, Sacred Bones Records
ProducerRandall Dunn
Marissa Nadler chronology
The Sister
(2012)		 July
(2014)		 Strangers
(2016)
North American Cover
A black-and-white photograph of Marissa Nadler silhouetted against a window in a brick wall, with the album artist, title, and song names listed in silver on the right
Sacred Bones Records

Production and release

Like Nadler's previous work, the album is acoustic and blends genres such as indie folk and dream pop, with Nadler writing the songs, singing and playing guitar. According to Nadler, the ideal situations for listening to the album might be "driving on a Nebraska highway" or "some lonely, drunken New York City evening by candlelight."[4] Beyond Nadler, the album also featured a number of guest artists who recorded instrumentals at Avast Studios in 2013. Phil Wandscher also played guitar, with Jason Kardong on pedal steel guitar. Eyvind Kang contributed strings and string arrangements, while Steve Moore of the band Earth contributed keyboards.

The first single from the album, "Dead City Emily", was released in November 2013.[6]

Reception

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.7/10[7]
Metacritic83/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
American Songwriter[10]
Exclaim!8/10[11]
Fact4/5[12]
The Irish Times[13]
Mojo[14]
NME8/10[15]
Pitchfork8.1/10[16]
Record Collector[17]
Uncut8/10[18]

July has received mostly positive feedback from music critics. At Metacritic, the album received a Metascore of 83, based on 25 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[8] The album received an exact score of 4 out of 5 from the majority of music publications, including AllMusic,[9] MusicOMH,[19] NME,[15] Drowned in Sound,[20] Fact,[12] Blurt[21] and PopMatters,[3] with Pitchfork breaking the trend by awarding the album 8.1 out of 10.[16]

"July is moon music, quiet music, slurp-merlot-in-the-fetal-position music, a slow-burning tapestry of goth-folk torch songs and woozy-pop incantations about love and loss and memory, whispered by the same spirits as Julee Cruise's airy Twin Peaks vocals".
— SPIN[4]

In a positive review, PopMatters called the album a "triumph" and "one of 2014's best albums so far",[3] while Spin included the album on its list of "The Best Overlooked Albums of 2014 So Far", calling it a "masterfully composed release".[4]

About the atmosphere of the album, Vice Media's Noisey website wrote that "the darkly lit July is a moody trip through heat spells and night drives... Nadler's quiet songwriting and ethereal sound give July a sound that's, at times, almost sinister".[5] Noisey further wrote that "her spectral voice earns comparisons to a siren" and the production "adds deadliness to her sound".[5] Steven Rosen of Blurt wrote that Nadler manages to achieve an "almost-hallucinatory effect out of her singing, often multi-tracking the voice to create a ghostly pillowing effect. The production by Randall Dunn highlights this, choosing instruments – strings, synths, piano, pedal steel, Nadler's own reflective acoustic and 12-string guitar – that create a sanctuary, a safe haven, for her to sing these 11 measured, stately compositions".[21]

Singles

The first single from the album, "Dead City Emily",[6] was positively received by Stereogum as an "ethereal spine-tingler"[22] and by BrooklynVegan as "a track as haunting and delicate as any of her best tracks to date."[6]

Chart performance

July debuted at No. 16 on the Billboard Folk Albums chart and No. 14 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers Albums chart.[2][23]

Chart (2014) Peak
position
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[2] 16
US Top Heatseekers Albums[23] 14

Track listing

All tracks are written by Marissa Nadler

No.TitleLength
1."Drive"5:36
2."1923"5:39
3."Firecrackers"4:38
4."We Are Coming Back"2:51
5."Dead City Emily"5:54
6."Was It a Dream"3:56
7."I've Got Your Name"2:29
8."Desire"5:32
9."Anyone Else"3:43
10."Holiday In"3:33
11."Nothing in My Heart"2:13

Personnel

References
  1. "Welcome, Marissa Nadler! New album 'July' released in February on Bella Union". Bella Union. November 13, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
  2. "Marissa Nadler - Chart history : Billboard". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
  3. Korber, Kevin (2014-02-20). "Marissa Nadler: July". PopMatters. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
  4. "The Best Overlooked Albums of 2014 So Far". Spin. 2014-06-05. Retrieved 2014-11-22.
  5. White, Caitlin (2014-01-21). "See Marissa Nadler's New Video for "Dead City Emily" and Read Our Extensive Interview". Noisey. Retrieved 2014-11-22.
  6. Sacher, Andrew (2013-11-11). "Marissa Nadler releasing new LP on Sacred Bones, appearing on new Emily Jane White LP, playing Rough Trade". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  7. "July by Marissa Nadler reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
  8. "Reviews for July by Marissa Nadler". Metacritic. Retrieved 2014-08-11.
  9. Jurek, Thom. "July – Marissa Nadler". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
  10. Horowitz, Hal (2014-02-17). "Marissa Nadler: July". American Songwriter. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  11. Ranta, Alan (2014-01-31). "Marissa Nadler: July". Exclaim!. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  12. Pattison, Louis (2014-03-10). "July". Fact. Archived from the original on 2016-06-18. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
  13. Murphy, Lauren (2014-02-07). "Marissa Nadler: July". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  14. "Marissa Nadler: July". Mojo (244): 91. March 2014.
  15. Gardner, Noel (2014-02-07). "Marissa Nadler – 'July'". NME. Archived from the original on 2014-02-15. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
  16. Pelly, Jenn (2014-02-07). "Marissa Nadler: July". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
  17. Atkins, Jamie (March 2014). "Marissa Nadler – July". Record Collector (425). Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  18. "Marissa Nadler: July". Uncut (202): 80. March 2014.
  19. Jex, Andy (2014-03-05). "Marissa Nadler – July". MusicOMH. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
  20. Lukowski, Andrzej (2014-03-05). "Album Review: Marissa Nadler – July". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 2014-03-28. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
  21. Rosen, Steven. "Marissa Nadler - July". Blurtonline.com. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
  22. DeVille, Chris (2013-11-11). "Marissa Nadler – "Dead City Emily"". Stereogum. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  23. "Marissa Nadler - Chart history : Billboard". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
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