Morgan Nagler has the ability to possess individual moments in time, to capture the wonder of experience through a lens of expressive musical adaptation. The Los Angeles-based musician has spent the last 20 years working within various band frameworks (specifically Whispertown and Supermoon) and collaborating with musicians such as Phoebe Bridgers, Margo Price, HAIM, and Kim Deal, developing her continued inspiration through these countless rhythmic relationships. Her work touches on moments of tender reflection while also embracing the myriad infernos churning in her heart.
She has spent time working through hundreds of sessions applying her imprint to the music of others, but now, that effort is directed at a vision wholly her own. With the release of I’ve Got Nothing to Lose, and I’m Losing It, she focuses in on what she describes as a “realist hope”, opting for a balance between optimism and sustained melancholy. There are certainly scars to be covered and wounds to be dressed, but Nagler views them as evidence of battles won and memories created, all adorned in rough-hewn melodies and echoing harmonic patterns.
Veering between rugged indie rock soundscapes and more reflective acoustic vistas, she approaches her solo debut without restriction, without trepidation. These songs are filed with life’s intricacies, the tiny moments that color the larger portrait of our years spent in combat with undefinable external forces. Guitars thump and shiver while her voice guides us through transient vulnerabilities, the music a canvas on which she lays out existential nuance. A fierce sense of personal accountability drives the music, a purpose found in the angular crevasses of intense experience and the need to dismantle useless expectations.
For our latest In Rotation feature, Nagler has curated a playlist that winds its way through the tangled histories of her musical influences, each track a glimpse into the origins of an honest and openhearted perspective on how emotion and experience shape our sonic realities. Listen to the playlist below and then read on to see how each track helped to inspire her own unique viewpoint on the intersection of sound and self-expression.
- The Lijadu Sisters – “Come On Home”
Listening to the Lijadu Sisters is my happy place, it instantly puts me in the mood I wanna be in. Their harmonies and cadence realign my body so I’m able to fully embrace reality while at the same time making reality a vacation. I strive for this exact type of yin yang, and their album Danger and EP Horizon Unlimited always set the scene for full on life embracement.
- Liz Phair – “Soap Star Joe”
The essence of early Liz Phair has a spirit I’ve always been deeply affected by. It’s like absolute unapologetic freedom to just be yourself. When I first discovered her in the late 90s it was life changing and opened the door to a whole alternate sonic and lyrical universe that helped shape the world I continue to live in.
- Cat Power – “Good Woman”
I love Cat Power in general, but this song in particular just pulls every single string. I could listen to it a thousand times in a row. It’s so… sad but true… in the most cathartic way.
- Mazzy Star – “Be My Angel”
Obviously Mazzy Star is an icon and who wouldn’t want to live in her sonic rough around the edges but oh so heavenly dreamscape. Her frequency just lures you in like the big bad wolf dressed as Grandma … except she’s actually more like Grandma dressed up like the wolf… and her perfect cottage in the middle of the forest is nothing less than a sonic safe haven.
- Violent Femmes – “Please Do Not Go”
Nothing like nostalgic melodic punk rock folk anthems to cure whatever ails ya!
- Kim Deal – “Are You Mine”
This song is somehow everything all at once and I’ve listened to it so many times it’s almost absurd how much I still crave it. Since perfect doesn’t exist, Kim Deal is the most perfectly imperfect artist in existence (in my humble opinion). Her clarity of vision is a true force and hits me where it hurts. (In the best way).
- John Prine – “Pretty Good”
John Prine is ALWAYS a great answer to the question, “what should we listen to”? You’re instantly sitting on the porch in the magic hour rocking on a chair that’s existed for all of time and singing along in the eternal summertime of your mind.
- Neutral Milk Hotel – “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea”
Such a classic album obviously. And somehow bridges so many genres. If there ever was an endless open highway, windows-down album to scream along to by yourself, this is it.
- Lucinda Williams – “Essence”
One time I walked into the Claremont Lounge, which is the oldest still operating strip club in Atlanta, known for its dive bar and almost carnival vibe and unconventional dancers, (including a famous Mother Daughter duo and often older women doing their thing). There was a 7-piece band playing and just absolutely crushing their version of Essence, by Lucinda Williams. The dichotomy of walks of life and this unbelievable version of this beautiful song that was already a part of my DNA brought me to tears in an instant.
- Built To Spill – “Carry The Zero”
This band and this song were a pivotal part of my awakening into a whole new world of modern music I didn’t know existed at the time. When I discovered it I was someone who listened to music louder than I do now, someone who threw themselves into an emotion or situation with zero hesitation willing to suffer whatever consequence. That is a spirit I like to stay in touch with, and I can tap right into it any time by pressing play on this song or really anything in the Built To Spill catalog. What a gift!
- K McCarty version of Daniel Johnston’s – “Hey Joe”
I discovered the songs of Daniel Johnston through this K McCarty album of all Daniel Johnston covers called ‘Dead Dog’s Eyeball’. I absolutely fell in love with the songwriting, and it has definitely shaped me. ‘Hey Joe’ is one of the first songs I learned on guitar, and it brings me so much joy to cover it myself. I love going back and hearing all these versions.
- Elliot Smith – “Coming Up Roses“
There’s just something so magical about the way it feels like you are fully in his world, and he is whispering in your ear, isn’t there?
I’ve Got Nothing to Lose, and I’m Losing It is out today on Little Operation Records and More. You can order the album here. You can follow Nagler on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
