Watching, listening, feeling, breathing. Zola Jesus is Nika Roza Danilova of Wisconsin. Not a very typical Wisconsin name, but then nothing about her is typical at all. On first listen, I’m feeling PJ Harvey, I’m seeing Siouxsie Sioux, I’m understanding Lydia Lunch. I’m feeling Joy Division in tracks like Smirenye from Turnstile Music‘s Bento #2.
Haunting, lo-fi, gothic, ambient, slow-pop. Nika’s opera-trained vocals marry the sounds and the beats in perfect harmony.
Now Souterrain Transmissions have given this track for your preview pleasure from her latest offering Stridulum. Night starts with hushed whispers, carried by the strings of dark violins, brooding synthesized organs, a looping avant-industrial bass kick and vocals that can put Florence from The Machine to shame.
Stridulum II comes out on the 23rd of August.
Buy Zola Jesus on iTunes here.
[Zola Jesus - Night] Bad Fotography Highly Recommends!
As mentioned on Souterrain Transmissions here.
2 comments
MP3 Blog | Zola Jesus – Sea Talk « Bad Fotography - Parties // People // Music // Blog says:
Jul 28, 2010
[...] Zola Jesus is making another appearance on this blog. Simply because her amazing voice always stops me dead in my tracks. Souterrain Transmissions have just given this track up for free on their website, so I thought you guys might like a welcome break from the medicore crap that is flooding the blog circuit at the moment. Again, echoes of Joy Division, in particular, the song Atmosphere. [...]
MP3 Blog | Zola Jesus: Nation of Shopkeepers, Leeds, 3rd September 2010 « Bad Fotography - Parties // People // Music // Blog says:
Sep 4, 2010
[...] best nights I’ve had in a long while. Souterrain Transmissions arranged for me to interview Zola Jesus before her set at Nation of Shopkeepers in Leeds. You can go and read the interview here. In the [...]