Conatus

Mainly thanks to the hugely well-received Stridulum EP (as well as its expanded re-release: Stridulum II) the diminutive Nika Roza Danilova is hot property. Instead, however, of going for broke with Conatus, Danilova puts forth a more subtle collection than perhaps could have been expected.

Her industrial notes are still present, raising their head via foreboding synth scales on "Avalanche". So, too, are her impressive, operatically-trained pipes, but they now often plump for deeper sequences, rather than squarely aiming to bring down the house. Generally though, Conatus is treated to a softer electronic palette than its predecessors - one, perhaps, indicative of a greater recording budget.

Nevertheless, in holding back, the album feels airy. Danilova, like careful Canadian pop producers New Look and like The xx before them, isn't afraid of space. Her arrangements aren't crowded as a result, yet they seem set at a distance from the hushed atmospherics of earlier material all the same - and further still from the more linear lo-fi clatter of forgotten debut The Spoils.

With that in mind, the delayed vocal loops that herald "Vessel" allow the track to echo around its dramatic setting, before it all inevitably rounds out to a bleak chorus of sorts. For there is pop in Conatus's heart, but occasionally it takes some finding. Stepping out of the shadows, "Seekir" is at the more obvious end of this scale, bringing to mind a shyer, albeit more vocally interesting, new wave cut from Yeah Yeah Yeahs' silky It's Blitz! in the process.

Conatus builds throughout, but climax never truly comes. There may be no breath-taking standout to rival the shimmer of "Night" or the raw power of "Run Me Out", but the suspenseful "Hikikomori", which is warmed by strings throughout, threatens similar territory while still showing Florence the exit in terms of emotive balladeering. The curiously named "Lick The Palm Of The Burning Handshake" could equally have really gone for it, exploding with stygian crescendo on top of immaculate operatic high notes, but it's restraint is probably also its power.

Still capable of surprising, Danilova's best played ace however comes in terms of comparison. The driving "Ixode" suggests it, and the distant vocal backing on "Skin" evocatively confirms it, as, through fairly heavy use of vocal looping and delay, an affinity with 2011 naturalistic newcomer Julianna Barwick is more than hinted at. Both manage to evoke an ethereal chatter ideal to sound-tracking fast-forwarded, helicopter-mounted camera work on geographic documentaries - something the organic existentialism of the album title Conatus may doubly confirm.

Insulation is required in order to stay hot, and Danilova's Conatus is duly swaddled in effective, frosty gauze. Inside, she's quietly thriving, burning brightly.

Advised downloads: "Vessel" and "Hikikomori".

Zola Jesus (born Nika Roza Danilova) made me sit up and listen with
her 2010 release 'Stridulum II'. Ms Jesus is a Creature Of The Night,
of this there can be little doubt. Her music arises out of the shadowy
realm, where the air is thick with smoke from a thousand funeral pyres.
I understand that she eschews the notion that her creations are Gothic
in intent but it is hard not feel the presence of the wolf at the door
and the bats in the belfry in this wonderfully gloomy new collection.

'Conatus' does not take us too far away from the territory where she
clearly feels most at home but in these ten songs and their brief,
clattering wordless introduction 'Swords' there is a greater sense
of form and melody present than of yore, together with a more economical
use of reverb, which allows us to hear what a fine voice she possesses.

The doomy washes of synth and thundering percussion which define her
best work are both present and correct but there is a (dare I say it!) a
lightness and warmth creeping into her songs which extends her emotional
sound palette considerably. Take a song like 'Vessel' : crikey it would
not take too much of an imaginative leap (its apocalyptic ending
notwithstanding) to think of it in Adele's recent bluesy/gospel repertoire.
'Hikikomori', too, has a fine soulful tune, punctuated by a well-considered
string arrangement which enhances its anthemic pagan qualities admirably.
'Seekir' would not sound out of place on some of the World's more arcane
subterranean dancefloors and 'Shivers' twitches and trembles gainfully.

It is to 'Skin', however, which we must turn to experience Ms Zola's very
finest moment. It is a moving and strangely beautiful composition; the
simple piano accompaniment and ethereal harmonies framing a central vocal
performance of stark intensity and powerful affective authenticity.

I've come with her this far. It looks like I'm in it for the long haul!

Highly Recommended.

The two previous reviews are both intelligent and accurate. All I wish to add is that, from my perspective, "Conatus" builds a cohesive work from the the elements that made "Stridulum 11" so surprising. And, as such, is a superior Cd.