Listenable – Zola Jesus, the low-fi band that doesn’t exist
Posted by Mat | Filed under Music
“Zola Jesus didn’t need to clean up to stand apart from the Lo-fi horde– they already had Nika Danilova’s voice”
In the very first sentence of their review of Zola Jesus’ new EP Stridulum, Pitchfork presents the reader with a clear image of the music – great female vocals and Lo-fi sound. The expectations are set – early Liz Phair, or maybe the garage sounds of No Age or Vivian girls.
Nope, no Lo-fi here.
Buzzing guitars, scratchy vocals, pervasive noise, and other Lo-fi staples have been supplanted by dron, martial percussion, and a sole, powerful and echoing, voice. This is downright goth.
A look over at Zola Jesus’ site confirms the thought:
What are your musical influences? – Singers with big voices, like Diamanda Galas and Tina Turner. Divas. Film scores from the ’70s and ’80s. Industrial and power electronics. BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Opera, Philip K. Dick.
Bizarre female vocalist? Really avant garde electronic music? Dystopian science fiction?
Congrats to you, Zola Christ, you’ve managed to break the vicious cycle – you’re beyond the scene and have a much more relevant genre tag. I have found my post-goth figure to rally behind.
Tags: elitism, industrial, listenable, low-fi, post-goth, scene, zola jesus
