Zola Jesus - Stridulum

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5...according to our Brett on Wed 17 Mar, 2010.

Big gothy bugger Zola Jesus has covered herself in oily stuff on the cover for this and it looks pretty cool. Cold pressed extra virgin olive oil's best but I don't think that's what she's used unless it's really gone off or a poorly rhino has shat in it or something. This doesn't really sound like her other stuff - it's pretty much a pop EP to be honest, reminding me as much of Bat For Lashes as anyone else. The Siouxsie-style vocals are up high with the slightly tribal drums and the songs are super tight and focused, benefiting from a harder, clearer sound and a more spacious mix than her previous stuff. This almost sounds like an unearthed relic from some unjustly forgotten band of the eighties and in another time and place it'd be easy to imagine a few of these six tracks becoming bona fide hits.. Quite excellent!

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Since her debut LP for Sacred Bones last summer, Zola Jesus s profile has grown exponentially. Her video for Clay Bodies debuted on The Fader and her likeness was plastered all over the Internet. The Spoils made dozens of year-end lists including The Wire, Pitchfork, The Fader, and Dusted, and fans and critics alike now seem rabid for new material. So without further ado, we present Stridulum, the new, far less lo-fi 6-song ep from Nika Roza Danilova. Recording her vocals for the first time with professional instruments, Nika s voice is brought to the powerful forefront of the mix unleashing the full range of emotions that had previously only been hinted at in her previous work. It s a siren song for the apocalypse, which manages to come across immensely nurturing at the same time.

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