Marianne Nowottny steps into her longtime alter ego Marzanna for a covers album that bends eras and styles through her singular vision. Across reinterpretations of Kate Bush, David Bowie, Joni Mitchell, and beyond, she shapes familiar works into something uncanny and cinematic — where jazz rhythms, orchestral shadows, and spectral vocals alike breathe unique life into these classics. The result is a collection that feels both reverent and radically transformed, highlighting Nowottny’s ability to draw haunting new depths from the well of beloved songs.
A cover of Kate Bush’s classic “Wuthering Heights” stirs right away — maintaining the original’s bewitching, twinkling intrigue, though bolstered here by Nowottny’s lower-pitched vocal immersion. Her steadier tonal disposition, compared to Bush’s wide-ranging enthusiasm, makes for a meditatively enthralling take. An interpretation of Bowie’s “I’m Deranged” ensues, infusing a lounge-set jazziness within the track’s intoxicating melodic flow. The atmospheric piano work pairs with the vibrant, jazz-laden rhythm section for a wholly immersive sound — turning this fantastic Bowie electro-rock venture into something that keeps intact its late-night feeling, while injecting a jazzier allure within it.
Nowottny also shows a talent in drawing from inspirations nearly a century old. The ravishing “You’re My Thrill” — a song from 1933 by composer Jay Gorney and lyricist Sidney Clare — is given a chilling, unforgettable enhancement by Nowottny. Its smitten lyricism and eerie, orchestral-infused sound makes for a timeless-feeling, haunting entrancement. Gordon Raphael (The Strokes, Regina Spektor) engineered both this track and “I’m Deranged.” “Stella Maris” also succeeds in the delectably dark realm, being a duet sung in German with Christian Corea — and conjuring an unsettling, enjoyable feeling in its plucky orchestration and reverbed vocals. With Marzanna, Nowottny reaffirms her place as a singular force in experimental songcraft — honoring the past while reshaping it into something strikingly her own.
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We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
