Zola Jesus - 'Stridulum' EP (2010)

1. Night
2. Trust Me
3. I Can't Stand
4. Stridulum
5. Run Me Out
6. Manifest Destiny

With a cover that looks like a mix between something by Andrew W.K and the gimp suit from 8mm, I wasn't sure what to expect with this one. Zola Jesus, the stage name for 20 year old American Nika Roza Danilova (good American name), is a singer songwriter set-up but not the traditional acoustic guitar and high pitched vocals. This little EP is dark, twisted and plagued with deep vocals, beats and piano.

The EP opens with 'Night', a dark introduction to what's on offer. Voices layer over the dark beat before Nika's vocals come in. With a voice very similiar to Natasha Khan (of 'Bat For Lashes' fame) they work well. Long periods of drone sounds, mixed with a progressive big beat build up the song well but never climaxes to anything majorly stunning. Next up is 'Trust Me', a song I feel very similar to 'Daniel' (again, by 'Bat For Lashes'). Vocals start straight away and the song continues to come together with the loud bass beat and drones. The vocals work very well again and hold themself well when holding long notes, words and the phrase 'I told you to trust me'. 'I Can't Stand' starts much more upbeat than previous and the loud drum beat is accompanied by long sustained vocals with periods of string instruments (possibly violin) present. Being the longest track on the album this one seems to stand out most on the EP as it seems to be the most complete song. Title track 'Stridulum' follows next. The loud drum beat continues throughout as before and the vocal chords are stretched to their limit with long sections up and down the scales. Eerie sounds linger in the background providing a haunting environment. The song ends with a long sample piece, which I can't help but feel like filler material to me. 'Run Me Out' takes a while to get started. A long introudction, with some double bass and haunting voices, is followed by slow progressive vocals which then gradually builds up louder and louder. Operatic vocals in the background are then joined by big beats and voilin as the song goes towards a finale. To which it then ends. Last song 'Manifest Destiny' follows as the others did prior. This time more strings are present, sustained vocals and muffled beat. The song, on various ocassions, feels like it is going to break into a full operatic experience but the chorus is as exciting as it gets before coming back down to the level listened to throughout the EP.

Not a bad EP, and worth a listen. Although I do feel like time has been wasted on this one. Each song is similar in both structure and story. For the entirity of most songs I felt I was going to be treated to something magical at the end, only to be disappointed each time. The song would either build up and come back down again, or simply end. There is no doubt that Nika has a wonderful voice, and it does work with the music. Sadly the music isn't up to scratch. 'Bat For Lashes' fans will like this one more than likely. I've had enough though.