Zola Jesus

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Timothy Saccenti

Zola Jesus

Wisconsin native (and one-time Madison resident) Nika Roza Danilova re-emerges after a three year absence with a new album, Okovi. Her gothically operatic music has always been darkly hued, and Okovi — a personal meditation on life and death — is perhaps her most intense work yet. With John Wiese.

$17 ($15 adv.).

press release: Sacred Bones is pleased to announce the Okovi, the new album from Zola Jesus. The first single is “ Exhumed .”

For over a decade, Nika Roza Danilova has been recording music as Zola Jesus. She’s been on Sacred Bones Records for most of that time, and Okovi marks her reunion with the label.

Fittingly, the 11 electronics-driven songs on Okovi share musical DNA with her early work on Sacred Bones. The music was written in pure catharsis, and as a result, the sonics are heavy, dark, and exploratory. In addition to the contributions of Danilova’s longtime live bandmate Alex DeGroot, producer/musician WIFE, cellist/noise-maker Shannon Kennedy from Pedestrian Deposit, and percussionist Ted Byrnes all helped build Okovi’s textural universe.

With Okovi, Zola Jesus has crafted a profound meditation on loss and reconciliation that stands tall alongside the major works of its genre. The album peaks of tragedy with great wisdom and clarity. Its songs plumb dark depths, but they reflect light as well.