Zola Jesus’s new album is titled Taiga. For those of you who don’t remember learning about biomes in middle school, taiga is a kind of snowy forest. While the snowforest may seem like an esoteric name to choose for a new album, it makes perfect sense for a Russian-American singer who grew up in relative isolation, surrounded by acres of frozen forest in Wisconsin.
Her first song off Taiga (out October 7 on Mute Records) is “Dangerous Days.” The new track has a more accessible sound than some of her past work, but still contains the same tint of industrial edge and fervent, electronic energy. The thumping beat comes in heavy like the drums of war, but her voice sails above it, bringing a piercing light to the “dark, dark days.” She has a skill for tempering the visceral emotions of her lyrics with the cool and polished quality of electronic music, and “Dangerous Days” is a perfect example.
Her cool exterior and propensity for the cold belies a furiously kinetic musical mind, one that seems to be working ceaselessly to deliver something new into the world.
