Chelsea Wolfe – ‘She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She’ album review: a bewitching return
THE SKINNY: In her first album in five years, Chelsea Wolfe has returned with a bang. Picking up from where she left with 2019’s Birth of Violence and fusing it with her experience working on the soundtrack to Ti West’s X, listeners find the Californian entering a new space, one you could argue she’s been voyaging towards her whole career. Beautiful but haunting, She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She is an arresting blend of everything that makes the contemporary goth priestess compelling.
Wolfe’s first album on Loma Vista is a brilliant way to start her new chapter. Produced by TV on the Radio studio whizz Dave Sitek, it sees her blend industrial, almost club-like textures, haunting whispered vocals and other moments of neo-pagan bombast in a confluence of technology and folkish horror, finished by her sirenic vocals. There’s ample drama, punishing sonics and moments of glistening beauty, making for a fascinating listen.
Across her new record, Chelsea Wolfe resoundingly asserts why she is one of the most authentic artists out there. Impossible to quantify with the gradually obsolete tags of genre, she blends her influences and previous career experiences into a multifaceted sonic experience that certainly leaves a mark on the listener. It’s also a testament to her that she’s managed to tap into new areas in such emphatic form.
Though She Reaches Out certainly sounds highly similar to the rest of her catalogue, Wolfe continues on her own personal journey to creative fulfilment, so one can’t be overly critical.
For Fans of: Wailing into the wilderness during the day and heading to a cloaked opera at night.
A concluding comment from Tom’s mum: “This one makes me shudder and not the kind of shudder I get from Olly Murs, but the one that sometimes shoots through me when I see an uplit Andrew Lloyd Webber.”
She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She track by track:
Release Date: 9 February | Producer: Dave Sitek | Label: Loma Vista
‘Whispers in the Echo Chamber’: A perfect way to kick off the album. After a brief flurry of noise, you’re sucked into an industrial-leaning spell with a languid but aggressive beat and Chelsea Wolfe’s typically haunting vocals, which are quiet yet ominous. “This world was not designed for us,” she whispers at one point, which sends shivers down the spine and confirms the Californian as this generation’s gothic priestess. The visceral churns of the guitar in the chorus are also a sonic delight. [4/5]
‘House of Self-Undoing’: The spell Wolfe weaves across her new album continues. Despite the darkness, the low synth melody and hypnotic beat keep you suspended, with a great deal of excitement prompted as Wolfe’s otherworldy vocals toe the line between delicate and forceful, with her customary use of melisma ramping up the drama. [3.5/5]
‘Everything Turns Blue’: This one captures the imagination with the rumbling, almost videogame trailer-like beat and the off-kilter synth. Incredibly cinematic, the chorus is the most arresting on the new album, with Wolfe’s artistic character – which fuses the psychedelia of her native state with metallic textures – coursing throughout it. A sonic manifestation of her lifelong fascination with the metaphysical: “I’ve been thinking about you, you fucked me up in my dreams / What do I have to do to heal you out of me?” [3.5/5]
‘Tunnel Lights’: A jazz-inflected piece that leans into trip-hop, the fourth stop on the new offering contains swirling textures, a glistening piano, and one of Wolfe’s more soulful performances, which is augmented by the accomplished sound design of Dave Sitek. A masterful composition that bounces from ethereal to bombastic, this is vintage Chelsea Wolfe. [4/5]
‘The Liminal’: A track where the passionate drama hits fever pitch; if it wasn’t already clear, this one certifies just how exceptional of a singer Chelsea Wolfe is. It might be overtly theatrical, but she musters a full-bodied and authentic palette. In this composition, the intricate layers gradually build together to create an experience you can’t help but lose yourself. [4/5]
‘Eyes Like Nightshade’: One of the more unsettling junctures on She Reaches Out to, with the industrial ballast returning, but this time augmented by the metallic jingle of the added percussion. Here, Wolfe’s voice is buried deeper in the mix, as her siren-like vocals once again make you lose sense of your present setting as she pulls you into her world. A little bit of Berlin club, BDSM sex party, and shoot ’em up horror soundtrack all in one pulsating mix. [3.5/5]
‘Salt’: A more heartfelt offering, once again underpinned by the expressive beat, the centrepiece of this song is Wolfe descanting in anguish, “Salt, Salt in my tears”. This is the kind of atmosphere you’d expect to see in a video game trailer for the latest expansive Souls-like RPG. [3.5/5]
‘Unseen World’: Featuring thunderous drums and an imperious synth line, in the song, we are the cloaked disciples listening to Chelsea Wolfe deliver her sermon. With the power of her voice and music, she fuses folkloric mystery and the modern hypnosis of technology to full effect. It doesn’t mess around. [3.5/5]
‘Place in the Sun’: A change of pace. It’s a touching stop for air, a piano-led, minimal piece where the keys and Wolfe’s voice are front and centre of the mix. The phantasmagorical electronic elements reappear in the chorus to prop up the Californian’s pyre as she produces an affecting chorus melody that certifies this one as a ballad, just with a distinctly modern twist. [3.5/5]
‘Dusk’: A layered moment of glory, from the drone to the infectious digital melody that pops in and out, Wolfe closes out her latest album in style. In true character, the minimal beauty takes a full-bodied turn for the climax, as the meaty string bends and her high-pitched vocals counterbalance the equilibrium of the start and drive the magic sentiment home. [3.5/5]
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