Zola Jesus/ Stridulum II

Zola Jesus
Stridulum II
(Souterrain Transmissions)

This record sounds beautiful, until you read that it's one woman's attempt to "simultaneously combat and invoke the approaching apocalypse." Whaaat? What approaching apocalypse? C'mon Zola, you don't need to invoke anything - couldn't we just, y'know... combat it, then talk later?
And yet the music is exactly as this statement would have it: Zola (aka Nika Roza Danilova) uses her opera-trained voice to hugely dramatic effect, sounding partially like a mother that's lost a child, partially like an African voodoo priestess, and partially like the composer of The Omen soundtrack after a few bottles of vino.
The results would have fitted perfectly into the so-called 'dark rock' scene of last year, taking in no wave influences alongside slow, pulsating beats, church synths and shamanistic chanting. Her vocal performance can feel so heartbreaking they're like Sinead O'Conner's 'Nothing Compares 2U' with BONUS TEARS. Can you imagine?
To conclude then, Zola Jesus is sort of like the Dracula to SCUM's pack of vampires, watching over the world with wisdom and a deep appreciation of the movements of the moon. Who knows? Maybe in reality she's a dork. But all we can say for sure is that, somewhere in the making of this album, a supernatural force has overtaken her.