Listen: Mirel Wagner – “The Dirt” [Premiere]

17 July 2014, 15:00 | Written by Laura Rancani

(Tracks)

(Mirel Wagner)

Mirel Wagner’s self-titled debut haunted listeners with lean, downright ominous folk visions and hushed immediacy upon its release in 2012. The musician from Espoo, Finland further develops her strikingly direct style of songwriting with her somber new single, “The Dirt”, premiering today on Best Fit.

Wagner’s voice is a rich, clear beacon that draws the listener right into a threadbare scene of poverty shared between a mother and child. Accompanied only by a heavily strummed guitar melody, her matter-of-fact vocal delivery avoids sentimentality and opts instead for unflinching reserve and eerily quiet reassurance.

“The Dirt” is taken from her forthcoming LP When Cellar Children See the Light of Day, slated for release on 11 August via Sub Pop.

Live:

26 July - Finland, Helsinki Radio Helsinki Klubi @ Fregatti
8 August Finland, Helsinki Flow Festival
15 August - Finland, Helsinki Luomustrudio @ Linnanmäki
21 August - Finland, Helsinki Showroom Jussi Karjalainen Exhibition opening
30 August - Germany, Berlin Torstrassenfestival
13 September - Belgium, Gent Big Next Festival
14 September, Netherlands, Amsterdam MC (Grote Studio)
1 October - Finland, Espoo Sellosali
3 October - Austria, Vienna Porgy & Bess (Waves Festival)
4 October - Slovenia Ljubiljana International Festival of Contemporary Arts - City of Women
10 October - Finland, FI Turku Dynamo
11 October - Finland, Tampere Telakka
13 October - Finland, Helsinki KOM-ravintola
17 October - Finland, Oulu 45 Special
18 October - Finland, Jyväskylä Musta kynnys
23 October - UK, London St. Pancras Old Church
25 October - UK, Bristol Simple Things Festival
30 October - Switzerland, Geneve La Graviere
31 October - Switzerland, Le Locle Le Lux
1 November - Switzerland, Zürich El Lokal
11 December - France, Bordeaux Winter Camp Festival @ Krakatoa (w J. Mascis)
12 December - France, Paris Winter Camp Festival @ Maroquinerie (w J. Mascis)