New Music: Nicole Marxen – Tether

Dallas-based musician and visual artist Nicole Marxen first came to prominence as a member of the avant-garde pop band Midnight Opera. Her solo career now takes flight with her debut EP Tether. You can watch the video for the title track below.

The pulsating, primal nature of the emotions behind the lyrics and vocal performance shines through the dark, rolling sound of Tether. Marxen’s voice has Zola Jesus’ and Kate Bush’s sonic echoes in abundance, full of promise, mystery, and danger for the unwary, as the song explores intense and private moments. For all that, the track has a real energy to it, a purposeful, confident air, one that comes from coming to terms with the complex themes the song explores.

Marxen says about the ideas behind the track, “Tether is about navigating the vast landscape of loss. In many ways, it was a crucial first step in my own grieving process and self-discovery as a songwriter. Being so rooted in showmanship, I hadn’t explored such vulnerability in my work before. When I began to shift my efforts inward, I found that my truth very much needed to be expressed. The song serves as a reminder to hold space for myself.”

The Tether EP is out on the 26th of February and can be pre-ordered on Bandcamp, while you can stream to the track on  Spotify. You can get more information on how to pre-order and pre-save the EP over via Marxen’s Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter feeds.