Conatus is an emotionally intense album that will leave you completely drained and exhausted when it’s over. But it’s worth it.
Conatus is an emotionally intense album that will leave you completely drained and exhausted when it’s over. But it’s worth it.
(Souterrain Transmissions)
Who is Zola Jesus? Zola Jesus is: a visually literate female vocalist and song writer with a whole lot of synth. Sounds intriguing? Yes, it is.
Nika Rosa Danilova apparently adopted name Zola Jesus when she was in High School. Clearly, she wasn’t aiming to be popular. Yet somehow she has managed to become unassailably hip, with bloggers and music writers trying desperately to categorise her as everything from gothic revival to Witch House (yes, that’s ‘a thing’). Whatever. Don’t think about the label. Listen to her music.
The vocals are definitely reminiscent of Florence Welch – but tougher. Somehow raw yet languid. It’s pretty spectacular.
Yet her voice comes second to the mind-blowing songs she crafts. The ambience she creates from a drum machine loop, some vocal samples, a few sparse chords and some reverb is hard to believe. Her melodies conjure everything from deep melancholy in The Avalanche, strange disorientation in Vessel and a dizzying sense of freedom in Ixode.
None of this music is particularly upbeat, but that doesn’t stop it being danceable. Seekir is practically poppy with its additive hook and hi-hat beat. Juxtapose this with the mournful strings on In Your Nature and the entirely instrumental soundscape that is the opening track Swords and you kind of begin to understand why Zola Jesus is so fascinating.
Conatus is an emotionally intense album that will leave you completely drained and exhausted when it’s over. But it’s worth it.