Zola Jesus Is The New Siouxsie Sioux…And I’m OK With That
August 4th, 2010
There’s been something of a recent revolution regarding female pop musicians the past few years. I think Lady Gaga has quite a bit to do with it, as her off-the-wall corporal decor has made her middling pop anthems all the more entertaining. Her bizarro, anything-goes MO has even provoked well-worn label queens like Beyoncé and Xtina to rethink their own yawn-inducing images, even if those maneuvers reeked of predictable copycat recycling. And while Gaga and her pro-gay, not-totally-lame dance music ethos is intriguing—especially considering all the shock-and-awe videos—it’s still nail-bitingly mainstream. Fortunately, there is a counterbalance even more outlandish in the form of Karin Dreijer Andersson, aka Fever Ray, aka one half of The Knife. Her music is stunning, and so is her style. Just a peek at one or two of her bone-chilling videos and you’ll likely give her the weirdo crown, which she’ll promptly back up with excellent electro-goth spook jams.
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The impact has also been felt locally, as Seattle has its own burgeoning Gaga-wannabe in Lisa Dank, and I’ll even throw in progressive space cadets THEESatisfaction, who can rock the house with the best of them. So with all those handy reference points in tow, I finally come to the ultimate subject: Zola Jesus. A 21-year-old Wisconsin witch-rocker riding a recent comeuppance, Zola Jesus (born Nika Roza Danilova) is the artistic offshoot of many performers both past and present. Fever Ray and Gaga, of course, come to mind easily. Bat For Lashes, who’s swirling nocturnal ambiance ZJ also seems to have been taken by, is another. But it’s particularly difficult not to reminisce of the great banshee herself, Siouxsie Sioux, when listening to ZJ, whose voices were undoubtedly linked in another lifetime. Her music doesn’t have quite the punk element that SS often had, but the harrowing, deep-octave despair is spot on. And I’m ok with that; Gaga, after all, is basically just a carefully versed combination of Elton John, Michael Jackson and Madonna. So the revolution continues, as solo female artists are taking more and more risks to separate themselves from the swarm. For her part, Zola Jesus has this slick new video, which combines spooky, sci-fi aesthetics with warm, lovelorn emotion. It might just be the elbow room she needs to rise above.
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“Night” is the first track of her Stridulum EP, which came out March 9th on Sacred Bones Records. My trusty CHBP companion and I regrettably missed her set at the Vera Stage a few weeks back, but she’ll next appear in Seattle September 25th, opening for the xx at the Paramount.
August 4th, 2010 at 2:22 pm
The Lady said:
Good lord that is a good bill.
August 4th, 2010 at 8:39 pm
No Thanks said:
Not even close.
August 5th, 2010 at 8:19 am
LB said:
Not even close?? Sure it is, mister!
August 5th, 2010 at 11:00 am
LB said:
I also forgot to mention Janelle Monae, who’s doing R&B/Soul a serious favor by being WEIRD AND AWESOME.
September 1st, 2010 at 5:06 pm
ET said:
I can certainly hear elements of the Banshees in this particular song but I think it’s too early to make comparisons to Siouxsie Sioux. So much of who Siouxsie is—is not her voice only—but also the journey she has been on. Times are different. I don’t think artist and specifically women today struggle as much as others have in the past like Siouxsie, Blondie, Chrissie Hynde, etc. They really were ground breaking. In some ways, Siouxsie has been successful and in others not so much. We haven’t had a real great shift in music for a long time. Like Madonna, there’s only one of them in a generation.
On a side note, I am impressed with Ms. Monae. She’s one to watch. I’m also particularly fond of Roisin Murphy. She can really deliver the goods live and in the recording studio.
September 7th, 2010 at 5:54 pm
JR said:
Respectfully, I have to disagree with the Siouxsie Sioux comparison as well. True, there are some superficial similarities between Zola and Siouxsie, but it’s hard to compare the two artists lyrically or — more importantly — vocally. Siouxsie’s lyrics were deep and poetic and her voice was strong enough to front a ROCK band; Zola Jesus, in contrast, seems right at home in the ambient, monotone, synth-goth track found above.
Honestly, a more apt comparison can be made between Siouxsie Sioux and stayC Meyer, the singer who fronts Furniture Girls. Lyrically, the chilling picture stayC paints in the FG song “Sleep” is terrifyingly similar to what Siouxsie did with “Candyman.” Vocally? No offense to the author or Ms. Jesus, but there’s more to SS’s voice than “harrowing, deep-octave despair” — there’s raw energy, with enough power to cut through a live band AND blow out the back windows just for fun. stayC meets that bar. She isn’t the 2nd coming of Siouxsie, but she’s closer than most.
September 8th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
zzz said:
have to chime in & concur w/ No Thanks & JR; I get the tonality comparison w/ ZJ & Siouxsie… but… that’s about where it ends. I think if Siouxsie were at a ZJ show, she’d yawn & walk out of the room. Let’s not forget that SS was @ the forefront of punk. And even still (@ 53) she could open her mouth & let out a sound that would blast ms. ZJ right off the stage. Sure, the deep monotone sound is reminiscent of early Banshees stuff (Red Light comes to mind) -but where are the guts? All due respect to Zola Jesus; not out & out dissing, just don’t agree w/ the comparison. Furthermore, I’m far more interested in what ms. ZJ is doing w/ her side project (Nika & Rory) where she stretches her vocal range more & slides over into the pop genre a bit. That’s much more daring in my opinion. Aside on JR’s mentioning – did happen to catch Furniture Girls a while back; that night they actually covered “Arabian Nights” (pleasant surprise). Guitar work was more updated & Interpol-like & overall a good cover.
September 8th, 2010 at 4:14 pm
LB said:
Here’s what I wrote. In this post. Up there. On this page:
“But it’s particularly difficult not to reminisce of the great banshee herself, Siouxsie Sioux, when listening to ZJ, whose voices were undoubtedly linked in another lifetime. Her music doesn’t have quite the punk element that SS often had, but the harrowing, deep-octave despair is spot on.”
Superficial, tonal comparisons are really all I made. And that’s really all I was interested in doing. SS obviously has the history and credibility to trump the fledgling career of ZJ, but they sound alike—a LOT alike, in fact—and that’s enough for me.
September 8th, 2010 at 7:03 pm
PeterNeal said:
[ed: comment removed. it was bad.]
September 9th, 2010 at 8:12 am
zzz said:
Wow. Last dude – you’re not edgy either. Stop torturing animals & get some Therapy. Is there anything more desperate than screwing a corpse? And no, that is not your cue to start dumping prostitutes in the Green River. Help. Get some. Now.
September 9th, 2010 at 8:16 pm
Tony said:
I have to say this, Only because some like minded people in my sect seem to compare this band to Siouxie and the Banshees..I must give my opinion and it’s a far wishful thought.. I mean Siouxie is an originator, just in lyrics alone Siouxie far so much more interesting ( I know its perception) But with the beauty of dark love tales and sullen passion of memories stapled into generations of so much youth and smoke machine lust in so many dance floors through out the World entire – Sorry Zola Jesus still requires Rubber to the pavement if compared to an artist of this caliber.I hope and I think Zola Jesus are not trying to be the next anything,.. Just Be maybe I dunno,… Fuck the critics just keep it real, Fun, Enchanting, Mysterious, Alluring what ever it is that drives you..But Do Not allow your self to be compared, Lol. Siouxie is and was and will Always be an artist who knew not create art but to just be Art, And from I gather did not like music business very much, But they effected many women and men back then and broke through many venues ripping it up,..Burning through. Budgie is not only one of the most underrated drummers that has ever been but one of the most Diverse,.. compare…….Good Luck !!!
September 9th, 2010 at 8:22 pm
Tony said:
and to JR yes .. for its LANDS END .. wow
September 10th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
JR said:
LB, I have to assume you knew you’d be pushing some buttons by titling this post “Zola Jesus Is The New Siouxsie Sioux…” which is a headline that seems a little silly at this point, since you freely admit that “superficial tonal comparisons” are the basis of your argument. It got people to read what you wrote, though, so… congrats. :)
September 10th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
LB said:
Yeah, I’ll admit that headline was an attention grabber. But I also didn’t intend to offend Siouxsie Sioux’s (obviously ardent) fan base. Honestly, all I really wanted to do was emphasize ZJ (and her voice) in light of her contemporaries, this new wave of female musicians who are a thousand times more interesting than their counterparts from 10 years ago. Much like SS was in her day.
I think I’ll avoid making this comparison again, however.
September 16th, 2010 at 11:42 am
JR said:
Yep, I totally agree that what female musicians are doing these days is something special, but here’s hoping their success won’t depend on the outlandishness of their costumes. Thankfully, there are plenty of talented local artists (e.g. FGirls, The Redwood Plan and Alabaster) that aren’t going “Gaga” — women that seem determined to keep the emphasis where it belongs: on the music.