Some artists never stay in one place for long, always on the move to find new ways to express themselves. Chelsea Wolfe certainly fits in this camp, having since her debut in 2010 gone through genres such as gothic rock, folk, industrial, doom metal, sludge metal and post punk, to name a few. As variety is the name of the game, you never know what sonic territory Wolfe explores on a new album until you press play. Personally, I have been more drawn to Wolfe when she explores the industrial side of the equation, with Abyss sticking out as a great success in that area. Meanwhile, her folk-leaning work has always left me a bit cold as that is a kind of minimalism that is hard for me to grasp. Fortunately for me, the circularly titled She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She mixes and matches several of the things I think Wolfe does right. Sounding like it comes straight from Abyss, “Whispers in the Echo Chamber” creeps in with a throbbing bass-line and synths crying out in pain. The sludge-like pace, electronica lays the foundation for an aggressive electric guitar and whispered singing that culminates in a payoff that could fool me into thinking Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) was behind the composition. The first three tracks carry this urgent industrial feel, setting up the pace well. Wolfe‘s vocals are varied and float over this busy material with ease, greatly helped by a good production. The throbbing beats course throughout the entirety of the album, but it switches track slightly at “Tunnel Lights”, a song that mixes airy vocal hooks that recalls Debut– or Post-era Björk with a trip-hop pace like Massive Attack circa Heligoland. It’s a very chilled out number that still swells to a good payoff in the end.
Much of the success of She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She lies in the attention to detail that peppers even the most sedate songs. There is always a bass line, swelling synth or whispered vocal layer tapping into the beat of its heart. Details like the, again, Björk-like (Vulnicura or Volta this time) “Eyes Like Nightshade”, where a sharp tambourine jingle and pounding beat keeps things active while the synth flows like a calm spring in the background. The last few songs soften up a bit and err on the lighter side of Wolfe‘s catalog. There is a sense of lightness and sadness that perhaps goes along with the album’s theme of leaving behind damaging ties to both people and addictions. Initially, I was very enthusiastic about this album, yet it has been hard to gauge exactly how I feel about it. While the variety on display serves the album well, I can’t help but feel that there is something off with the flow of the songs from start to finish. Perhaps this is an impression that will be overcome with time, as the dense weave of sounds take their time to sink in. For now, I am content to state that Chelsea Wolfe again proves to experiment in a way that yields results that are worth your time.
