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This is a songwriter who can hold grief and hope in the same breath: Nanseera holds space with emotive new single ‘Poison Rain’.
The Nashville-based artist, born in London and raised across Uganda and Ethiopia before settling in the US, brings a genuinely global perspective to a deeply American subject: the recent Supreme Court ruling weakening the Voting Rights Act.
Rather than anger, ‘Poison Rain’ leans into something closer to mourning laced with resolve. The gothic Americana arrangement, built around acoustic guitar, dobro, banjo, upright bass and drums, gives the track a sparse, haunted quality that suits its subject matter. Nanseera has described the mood as apocalyptic yet hopeful, and that duality is what makes the song work. It never tips fully into despair.
“Poison Rain was written in response to the US Supreme Court’s recent decision to significantly weaken the Voting Rights Act that is an anti-discriminatory act intended to protect the voting rights of marginalized groups, particularly racially marginalized groups. I read an article that referenced a Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg dissent where she said, throwing out anti-discrimination laws that are working is like “throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.” – Nanseera
Listeners familiar with Rhiannon Giddens, Jesse Welles, Gillian Welch, Allison Russell or Joy Oladokun will recognise the lineage here, artists who use folk and Americana as vehicles for social commentary without sacrificing melody or feeling. Nanseera fits comfortably alongside them.
The single arrives with an accompanying visualiser, adding a visual layer to the track’s themes. Written in a single sitting after weeks of false starts, and recorded in just three sessions, ‘Poison Rain’ captures an artist working at speed without losing precision. It’s a quietly powerful addition to a growing catalogue.
‘Poison Rain’ is out now…
