ZOLA JESUS – Conatus (Part 3)

Well, Rchl, I don’t disagree with the “slow build” perspective although I think much of this is deliberate on ZJ’s part and not necessarily a bad thing (I only mention that because it seemed like your take on this was leaning toward negative). “Swords” is – as the French and the foodies say – the amuse-bouche of the album. It’s a taste of what’s to come and it whets the palate for more industrial beats and sonic canyons that Zola Jesus seems so adept at conveying on Conatus. After that bite-sized track, ZJ serves up something familiar with “Avalanche” and Danilova even said that this is the oldest song on the album (I will, however, pat myself on the back for deducing this prior to reading Nika’s track run-down).

You mentioned that track four – “Hikikomori” – is the first to get its claws in you. For me, it’s a little earlier with the opening of “Vessel” (track three). I’ll follow those glitchy beats and vocal echoes anywhere, even if that means a dip in the sci-fi acid baths of Danilova’s freak-opera. Speaking of, did you ever listen to The Knife’s Darwin-inspired experimental opera “Tomorrow, In A Year“? I remember last year I started out listening to it while sitting at my kitchen table, upright and intent, but that seemed a little too civilized-modern-human for taking in something so visceral. I mean, I was listening to the sounds of primordial sludge for godssakes. I ended up lying on my back on the floor of my living room with my arms crossed over my face blocking out all light, telling myself I only had to make it through one complete listen of the opera. By the end, all the weird from those 80 minutes had sunken in and warped my brain to the point that I thought “Colouring of Pigeons” was a pop song. If you’re familiar with that track, you know that it’s quite spectacular and also that it’s definitely not a pop song. But my point (or observation, really) is that I feel this experience is analogous to you calling the Zola Jesus’s track “Shivers” the perfect pop song. Not to say that it isn’t poppy — it certainly has the simple lyrics and catchy melody characteristic of pop — but it also has an industrial electronic backbone. And it should be noted that there aren’t really any instruments or I-IV-V chord progressions conducive to air rocking-out. On Conatus, “Shivers” is definitely Gaga-esque and easy to hop aboard of but that might only be because we’ve submersed ourselves in a Zola Jesus sea. Everyone hanging out above will wrinkle their noses when we surface and say “Shivers” is perfect pop. And then they’ll ask if we actually meant that one Coldplay song.

But I digress. Rchl, you asked my opinion on what I think the standout tracks on Conatus are. Right now, I’m pretty into “Ixode.” This is surprising to me because I’m typically drawn to lyrically-driven songs (I like to sing along). But I get to 2:56 in “Ixode” and find the moment as emotive and powerful as any word-based melodic climax, possibly more so. And then I’m with you on “Lick The Palm of the Burning Handshake” and “Collapse.” Both of those tracks feel very authentically Zola Jesus but with a bit more polish and maturity. There’s a new light and warmth in these tracks, more than I could find anywhere on Stridulum  but they still come from somewhere heavy. Zola described “Collapse” as “a song…that is like throwing my arms up, surrendering myself to this passion, to this record, to the people that will hear it. In the end, I have no control over anything, I have nothing.” That’s not true, Zola. You have me and Rchl and our slumber party. Maybe we can dive into some of those movies that inspired Conatus because I have never heard of any of them.

Rchl, I’m actually seeing Zola Jesus play tonight in Chicago. Let’s pretend for a second that I end up hanging out with Nika after the show (you never know). What should I talk to her about? What questions would you ask?

“We’ll become the only security, we’ll become the understanding”
Sarah