There’s much about our digital era that leaves us feeling sequestered and disconnected from humanity. But for bedroom-pop artist Nadia Marie, these feelings were acutely heightened when she was involved in a horrific bicycle accident. The resulting brain trauma left her with severe amnesia, which ultimately wiped away three years of her life. The recovery process was excruciatingly slow and difficult with much of it spent alone and isolated while on bedrest. Her most critical connection to the past—and the tool she used most to lift the dense fog of forgetfulness—was her ability to create music.
Recorded and mixed in the confines of her bedroom, Nadia Marie’s forthcoming debut EP Weekday Weekend, is a testament to the songwriter’s strength and resilience. More importantly, the record serves as both a roadmap to her past and a path forward towards a promising future. As such, it’s no shock that her latest single “Two Things” pulses with a unique vitality and determined defiance. Across crisp percussion and skittering synths crafted with the help of friend and producer Mark Crowley, Marie makes it clear that she won’t be held back and has zero time for false lovers or bullshit drama. “I never want to hear my name come out of your mouth,” she warns fiercely, before dismissing her adversary with a terse “get out of my way.”
It’s rare that music this vulnerable and exposed also offer such toughness. But Marie capably wrangles this emotional complexity and sets it to a soundtrack that’s eminently danceworthy. We may never know what parts of her splintered self were lost to the accident. What’s emerged since, however, is inspiring and well worth celebrating.
Listen below.
Weekday Weekend is out Aug. 23.
Nadia Marie will perform tomorrow, Aug. 14, at 529 alongside Molly Burch and RF Shannon. Doors open at 9 p.m. Admission is $12 in advance or $15 at the door. 21+ to enter.
More Info
Web: nadiamarieforever.com
Bandcamp: nadiamarie.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @nadiamarieforever
Instagram: @nadiamarieforever
SoundCloud: @nadiamarieforever