Chelsea Wolfe : " She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She"

 

Wolfe's 8th album, yes we are counting "Mistake in Parting" finds her diving into more of a trip-hop feel. That is  trip-hop that is thicker on the trip than the hop. Tv on the Radio guitarist Dave Sitek is the wild card in the creation of this album. It opens with  "Whispers in the Echo Chamber", which is less of a surprise than the tempo drive to "House of Self Undoing". This gives it more of a 90s feel like recall bands like Curve. "Everything Turns Blue" was also released ahead of the album, so it was less than a surprise as well. Her voice is front and center, and it is yet another song that is bound to draw comparisons to Portishead. 

The most conventional approach to songwriting she takes thus far can be heard in "The Luminal". It holds a steady groove, and melodic hook without descending into the kind of murky ambiance that is this album's calling card. Both choices are equally effective here. Things do not get really experimental until "Eyes Like Nightshade". Her fragile vocals drift over an assortment of sounds that might even feel avant-garde on a Bjork album. This is a purposefully disjointed excursion into playing with sounds. One that might even have to grow on me, though I appreciate her willingness to experiment.   

A song like "Salt' resonates with me more, as the vocal melody is solid enough to warrant a more minimalist accompaniment. There remains a languid desperation in her voice that really sells me on it. I really like the exotic grandiosity of "Unseen World" that really grabs you. She wanders off into an almost Tori Amos-like balladry for "Place in the Sun". The album closes with "Dusk" which she released back in September. It's a great song that needed a second to listen to fully click, though the guitar solos at the end are cool. 

This album flows with her body of work. Nothing feels out of her wheelhouse. It is going to take a few listens for the more experimental moments to really click with me, but the moods she invokes are once again welcome. I will round this up to a 10, I foresee it getting a great deal of play from me and have already sat with the lead singles for some time, so none of this was a surprise except for the deeper cuts. 

 

pst65