While BIRTH OF VIOLENCE (2019) marked Chelsea Wolfe’s return to her folk roots, the pandemic-driven years that followed were primarily dominated by interdisciplinary collaborative projects. The stylistic spectrum ranged from a rough dark core collaboration with Converge to film music work with the soundtrack professional Tyler Bates (Marilyn Manson, Bush, Jerry Cantrell), who is also popular in rocker circles, as part of the Ti West slasher X ( 2022).
SHE REACHES OUT TO SHE REACHES OUT TO SHE, Wolfe’s seventh album, now stands for shedding and new beginnings. At least the strong material, which for the first time features increased compositional input from her long-standing accompanying musicians and was produced by the musical TV-On-The-Radio anchorman Dave Sitek, is evidence of being much more forward-looking, crossing the genre boundaries from gothic chic to industrial avant-garde, stylistic foresight.
Between Portishead-evoking, pulsating trip-hop beat chatter (“House Of Self-Undoing”), versatile Nine Inch Nails sound spirals, vocally ethereal Björk vocalizations or – due to their hymn-like nature – equally folkloric intonations are more imaginable With tunes like “Salt” or “Place In The Sun,” Wolfe creates a fascinatingly transcendental trip.