Past, present and future are all locked in. Communication through the tenses is possible. Insight, outlook and all those available gut feelings are charted on this latest album from Chelsea Wolfe. She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She is exactly as it sounds – the self reaching out to the self. Whether it is as a warning or in an affectionate sense is irrelevant. What matters most of all is how the self responds to communication from the self, and Wolfe charts this masterfully. Those harsh nails on a chalkboard to open the demented darkwave tones of She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She is a sign of confidence. Whispers in the Echo Chamber opens with the sinister tones expected of industrial rock at its more damaged awakening.
Living ghosts and the fascination with the usually fear-induced notions of horror are to Wolfe’s benefit. Curses, monsters and spiritual senses of violence and metallic, clanging shifts in tone bring enough variation to the intent of janky illusions in House of Self Undoing. Its harsher mood and momentum are a constant and the real joy of this record comes from the brutality found within. Its purpose is malleable and contained within this feeling of tortured creation. Tunnel Lights benefits from the lawnmower buzz on the inside. Pop a few ibuprofen if you suffer from ear troubles and endure the carnage – it marks another successfully dark stint in droning, siren-like rock for Wolfe. It expands even better on The Liminal, a real construction of misery and a tightly wound, thumping piece of brilliance.
Rattling chains and the commitment to discomfort on Eyes Like Nightshade cements Wolfe as an artist hellbent on carving out new ways to feel alert. She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She maintains promising moments throughout and much of it is through the unexpected instrumental additions, their off-kilter style and the approach made to the material, often whispered through by Wolfe. Wondrous percussion on Eyes Like Nightshade is carried forth, the beauty of its tempo and style founded well on Salt. Stripped back this piece may be it still has the industrious formalities from the earlier songs, but a remarkable consistency takes over and makes off with some stellar results. Album closer Dusk has all the clanging horrors which make She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She so enviable in its task, and so exciting as Wolfe edges close, so frequently, to excellent, drone-like material.
Metallic clangs and the rattling of industrialised objects never sounded so riddled with vain hope. Wolfe has provided the gothic pangs of something fascinating in She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She and the remarkable aesthetic, An authoritative touch develops Place in the Sun neatly, a compact and daring piece which flirts with static and electronic manipulation more than the other album tracks. Confidence is key to an album which hopes to strike through with the darker, seedier side of Gothic Rock. Experimental and entertaining electronic form is enough to see Wolfe through an exceptional release – one which holds the promise of clear-cut atmospherics and intensity to its tone and style which proves as exciting as expected.
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