Ms Wolfe is making beautiful music. Moody, gothic, atmospheric, cerebral, beautiful music. It sounds slightly retro but also bang up to date. It's not dance oriented and the guitar is her weapon of choice so it avoids more obvious comparisons with PlanningToRock, Zola Jesus, Austra and other ladies of that ilk. They do all draw a common heritage however with Siouxsie and the Banshees, Cocteau Twins, Sisters of Mercy and fully deserve the gothic tag but I'd say on first listen that Chelsea Wolfe's link is probably the one with least deviation.
She has a particular darkness to her music and her voice reminds me of PJ Harvey but a pre-menstrual Polly Jane with a hangover on a particularly bad day. The similarities so not end there, I must confess on first glance at the album cover that I thought it was PJ Harvey. It's not all gloomy though, she has slightly lighter moments where she strips back the theatrics and presents a calmer picture. Early tracks such as 'You Are My Sunshine' are classic Americana. This lady has clearly studied the classics and shows a maturity well ahead of her young age. It's hard to believe that this sound emanates from LA, what with it being the antithesis of perennial sunshine and superficiality but the facts don't lie. I'm a big fan of this music and I think with the likes of fellow LA resident, Zola Jesus, this is the very best around.
These 3 tracks are taken from her 2011 album Apokalpsis, as an apt an album title as you can get. Ms Wolfe wants you to get the message. She wants it painted black.
As a bonus track here's that 'You Are My Sunshine' to provide some light relief.
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