Zola Jesus: Stridulum II | CD review

(Souterrain Transmissions)

Siouxsie Sioux fronting the xx? The goth Florence Welch? Twenty-one-year-old Midwesterner Zola Jesus (born Nika Roza Danilova) has crept into growing relevance thanks to her stentorian, yet soulful voice and austere electronic pop, pitched not at the crushed velvet crowd, but at hipster central. This latest European update of her recent short album (Stridulum I came out in the US last year) finds Jesus moving away from her avant-garde early recordings and embracing direct songwriting and pithier instrumentation, to arresting results. "Night" sounds like a monster hit waiting for an advert to launch it. KE

Contributor

Kitty Empire

The GuardianTramp

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