Mirel Wagner. The queen of stark. She’s back! Returning for the first time since her excellent self titled album in 2011. She’s since joined Sub Pop for her new record, the disturbingly titled When The Cellar Children See The Light Of Day. If you questioned her macabre cred at all after that title, allow me to present her now song, “The Dirt.”
Wagner never takes anything for granted on her songs. You can feel the empty space on “The Dirt.” There is nothing for us to hear except her voice and her guitar, which she plays almost violently, leaving emphatic spaces between each chord. The lyrics, for a song called “The Dirt,” are about as dark as you’d expect. Wagner’s delivery really sells the song on the aesthetic. Even though she resides in Finland, she’s got the soul of the old blues and folk troubadours in her. Check it out below.
When The Cellar Children See The Light Of Day is out August 12 on Sub Pop.