Zola Jesus is the kind of name that sets your imagination running. A Christian dubstep outfit? Latin American singer with a wonky vibe? Religious chillwave? All wrong of course. It's operatic pop combined with lo-fi rock with a side of tortured Goth. Of course.
The band is female vocalist Nika Roza Danilova, a trained opera singer who has worked with a number of musicians to bring Zola Jesus to life. From an ex boyfriend - "it got weird" - to the current three-piece, a motley collection of musicians from bands with names like Wormsblood and Jex Thoth, all have input to produce respectively 2009's 'New Amsterdam', 'The Spoils', 'Tsar Bomba', 'Stridulum' and now the album 'Stridulum II', released in the UK this month.
The album follows the EP ‘Stridulum’ released earlier this year and is inspired by the 1979 cult science fiction movie 'Stridulum' by Giulio Paradisi, a slightly confusing opus that centres around the battle between good and evil. According to Danilova these extremes have filtered into every song on the album, reflecting her own personal battles as well as a tendency to gravitate towards the contrast of dark and light.
The music itself is theatrical, the opposite of the poppy R&B Nika writes with band member Nick Turco under the moniker Nika + Rory. 'Stridulum II' features the six songs from the EP version along with three unreleased, newly recorded tracks - all full of longing and dramatic sentiments, heavily produced and distinctly operatic. The drama of the Goth rock ballads is echoed in accompanying videos which are all leather and lace, ghostly shadows and supernatural happenings, all tied up by those spine tingling vocals.
Stridulum II is out 23 August and you can see Zola Jesus supporting Fever Ray in the UK in September www.myspace.com/zolajesus
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