Tonight we’re going with listening to Zola Jesus…

For those of you unfamiliar with the process, I ask for people to suggest songs to me from bands I’ve never heard before. Based on the band name, song title, and sometimes the album cover, I offer my best guess as to what it sounds like before I hear the first note. I don’t know the genre or band hometown.

What you see below is my real time review of this song…

Artist: Zola Jesus
Song: Vessel
Album: Conatus
Recommended by: Gabor on Twitter @gaborcsigas

Who it sounds like before I listen to the first note:

MC 900 Ft. Jesus: My exposure to MC 900 Ft. Jesus is limited to one, possibly two things–(1) An episode of Beavis & Butthead with some dude in a box (and that might not really be correct (I had to check, here’s what I was talking about)), and (2) I kinda feel like MC 900 Ft. Jesus was at Lollapalooza the year I went and was almost got killed when Ministry started playing. Also on that bill were Ice Cube, Pearl Jam, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. If any of those things ends up being true, maybe Zola Jesus will be keyboard heavy/drum machine based dance music that kids dance to at raves in Boulder where Jamiroquai tells kids that he used to be somebody while spinning Lady Gaga records.

Mariza: One of the great musical gifts ever handed to me was when Peff told me about fado music from Portugal. It’s haunting and beautiful, and from what I understand, interwoven into the whole saudade thing. One of the more famous fadistas is this woman Mariza. She’s got a voice straight out of an opera if it were going on in a juke joint in Mississippi, but Mississippi was a neighborhood in Lisbon. There’s this live video of the song “O Gente da Minha Terra” where Mariza looks like she’s ten feet tall, glowing with this otherworldly presence that feels, for lack of a better term, holy and angelic. So when I see the Jesus thing, but I also see a slightly exotic name like Zola, I have hopes that it’s going to be one lovely voice.

Zvoov: Back in November I went to a Signal Hill concert. One of the opening bands was called Zvoov. I’d never heard them before. I’m glad to say that I have now. Really good, post rock, noise. Maybe what I’d always hoped Sonic Youth would be (because I could never get into Sonic Youth). Really innovative playing and sounds, slightly menacing, dramatic. If Zola Jesus sounds like Zvoov, here’s what it will sound like. This, no doubt, is my brain telling me there’s something kindred about bands that have a Z in their names.

We’re moving forward! I am turning off the Aceyalone and clicking play on the Zola Jesus!

:14 It sounds like a less eerie opening to Dio’s classic “Holy Diver” and that amuses me because of the whole “Jesus” thing and how “Holy Diver” was the opposite of that. The first time I ever listened to that record I was on the living room floor and my parents were both still sleeping. Right about this part in “Holy Diver” (the 14 second mark) I was pretty sure I’d opened up some portal to Hell and that I’d made a terrible mistake. I don’t think Zola Jesus is going to lead me down the same path.

:22 almost half a minute of wind noises and changing imagery that has gone from seascape to desert shots. I wonder what a whole song of just wind noises would be like.

:32 Our first instrument, a kick drum, has been played.

:38 Keyboards now. I am reminded of Nine Inch Nails.

:45 I paused the song because I think there’s a really cool surround sound thing going on and I want to listen to it with headphones to get the full effect. It sounds like it might have been produced in Sony Vegas or something like that.

1:00 Glad I did the headphones. This is really well recorded. Some part of my brain said, “This is like a lost Tori Amos song from a recording session when she was really high.” Got some really bassy, solid sounding piano chords going.

1:08 The first vocals are hitting.

1:30 This is really good. I’m now going to add Enya into the mix of things I hear.

2:11 Coupled with the video, this is all disorienting in a good way.

2:20 There’s an honest, soulfulness to her voice, Sinead O’Connorish. It isn’t all over the place–it isn’t a showcase for range. But it gets into your marrow.

3:22 A complaint somebody might lodge is that the music is repetitive, but, I’d argue, that’s why it works. It’s world building in its hypnotic way. Dark and claustrophobic groove.

4:38 Audio earthquake. So great with the headphones on. The song explodes itself as it draws to a close. Very effective out.

Final thoughts:

All of my guesses were off. Closest in spirit might be what I thought MC 900 Ft. Jesus sounded like (but likely doesn’t sound like). It’s moody and electronic. In addition to the bands I named while listening to “Vessel” I was also thought fans of Florence + the Machine might also dig this. I’d definitely be interested in checking out more from the album to see how it all holds up in long form. I have a hunch it could be an album you could really zone out to while doing other things, like writing.

See for yourself below: