CHELSEA WOLFE: Album Reviews
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APOKALYPSIS
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FEATURED ON “BEST OF 2011″ LISTS
LIVING IN THE SKELETON OF A HAPPY MEMORY rates Apokalypsis #2 in Top Albums of 2011, 2/3/12. – See it here…
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ELDEST AND ONLY lists Apokalypsis among 30 best albums of 2011, 1/11/12. – See it here…
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SYMBIOTIC REVIEWS includes “Mer” in a streaming/downloadable compilation of 25 favorite songs of 2011, 1/5/12. – Listen here…
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BRAINWASHED reader’s poll includes Apokalypsis in Top 100 Albums of 2011, 1/1/12. – See it here…
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AMPHIBIAN ranks Apokalypsis at #4 in “Best 25 Albums of 2011″ 12/31/11 – See it here…
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NO CONCLUSION features Water Borders’ “BEST OF 2011: ALBUMS” which include Apokalypsis, 12/31/11 – See it here…
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PANIC MANUAL features Apokalypsis in their “Best of 2011″ albums and saying “Her vocals and the overall musical vibe probably remind me most of PJ Harvey (if she was American and into black metal). This is definitely one of the most sonically interesting albums to be released this year.” 12/29/11 – See it here…
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NO CONCLUSION includes Apokalypsis on their “BEST OF 2011: ALBUMS” 12/28/11. – See it here…
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BOOMKAT ranks Apokalypsis at #62 in “Top 100 Albums of 2011″ 12/27/11. – See it here…
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NO CONCLUSION features “Mer” as one of their “BEST OF 2011: TRACKS” 12/26/11. – See it here…
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THE CAVE includes Apokalypsis in “Best 10 Albums of 2011″ 12/24/11. – See it here…
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SF SLUDGE includes Apokalypsis in “Best 10 Albums of 2011″ 12/23/11. – See it here…
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RITUAL ABUSE includes Apokalypsis as #2 in “Favorite Records of 2011″ 12/22/11 – See it here…
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IMPATTO SONORO includes Apokalypsis as #22 in 50 best albums of the year. (Some Italian Text) 12/22/11, – See it here…
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MEAT MEAD METAL rates Apokalypsis as second favorite album of the year, says Chelsea Wolfe is “…a unique, once-in-this-lifetime talent who I will follow anywhere.” 12/22/11. – Read it here…
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E.FOR.ALPHA ranks Apokalypsis #4 in their “Best albums of 2011″ 12/21/11. – See it here…
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RAWKBLOG includes Apokalypsis in list of 35 best albums of 2011, 12/16/11; “Bleak, gothic, scorched-earth, fearsome: this isn’t the sort of record that usually makes its way onto Rawkblog, but Chelsea Wolfe’s latest is delivered with such textural complexity and emotional directness that the rest hardly matters.” – Read the full list here…
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CITY SOUND INERTIA names Apokalypsis in its top 25 albums of 2011, 12/14/11; Read the full list here…
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GUCCI GOTH rates Apokalypsis at number 4 in top 25 albums of 2011, 12/13/11; “Apokalypsis is certainly one of the most powerful records you’ll hear all year.” – Read it here…
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SPACEGHETTO lists Apokalypsis as one of their favorite albums of 2011, 12/10/11. – Read it here…
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OLOGY lists Apokalypsis as one of their top 15 indie/alternative albums of 2011, 12/09/11; “Los Angeles singer/songwriter Chelsea Wolfe came seemingly out of nowhere with her haunting, almost painfully unsettling sophomore effort. The arrangements are positively bloodcurdling—Chelsea’s voice (a healthy mixture of early PJ Harvey and Victorialand-era Liz Fraser) floats like an angry ghost above the unspeakably raw power of her electric guitars. Expect every hair on your body to stand at attention… and expect to be thinking of this record for days after each listen.” – Read the full list here…
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IMPOSE rates Apokalypsis at number 5 in best albums of 2011, 12/7/11; “I thought Chelsea Wolfe’s debut LP would either sound like Zola Jesus or Salem. I can’t help that other people’s music writing is piss poor enough to make me agree with lumping her in with aforementioned groups; in fact, Ms. Wolfe is in a class reserved for groups like Earth or the latest Jesse Sykes stuff, but all mixed with Kate Bush. Heavy, atmospheric, haunting, totally gorgeous, and not what I expected.” – Read it here…
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FEATURED REVIEWS and PRESS
ROZHLAS speaks a little bit about Chelsea Wolfe, reviews Apokalypsis, and streams “Sunstorm” music video, 4/17/12; “Chelsea Wolfe singer from Los Angeles is one of the great hope of contemporary folk scene.” (Czech Text) – Read it here…
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BRUTAL RESONANCE gives a review on Apokalypsis, 4/14/12; “‘Pale on Pale’ is an outstanding track where her vocals perfectly match the instrumentation. “To the Forest, Towards the Sea” provides delivers a short, unsettling glimpse into the arrival of the apocalypse, the blaring horns signaling the end of days, and the album closer “Movie Screen” features some lovely, unintelligible vocal work over instrumentals and noise and chaotic guitar riffs.” – Read it here…
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THE NEIGHBORHOOD reviews Apokalypsis and streams the music video for “Sunstorm”, 1/13/12. – Read it here…
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GRIMY GOODS reviews Apokalypsis, 12/14/11; “Chelsea Wolfe has successfully expressed herself in a real artistic manner without forcing her thoughts, ideas and emotions into something artificial. It’s beautiful.” – Read it here…
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PITCHFORK gives Apokalypsis a 7.3, 10/6/11; “Los Angeles “doom folk” singer-songwriter Chelsea Wolfe may white-out her eyes and show a fondness for gothic and Greek typefaces, but Apokalypsis shows there is more than meets the eye.” – Read the full review here…
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VICE reviews Apokalypsis, 8/25/11 – Read it here…
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SELF-TITLED streams Apokalypsis with Chelsea Wolfe’s commentary on each track, 8/30/11 – Read it here…
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CMJ reviews Apokalypsis, 8/25/11; “Chelsea Wolfe embodies this strange mixture of subtle atypical softness and creepy darkness all at once.” – Read it here…
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THE GUARDIAN reviews Apokalypsis, features Chelsea Wolfe as their “New Band of The Day”, 8/24/11 – Read it here…
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MTV HIVE reviews Apokalypsis, 8/16/11; “It’s fitting that haunting California folk singer Chelsea Wolfe lists Swedish director Ingmar Bergman as one of her primary influences. Like the iconic filmmaker, Wolfe eschews the immediate payoff for slow-building, deathly pieces that disturb as much as entertain.” – Read it here…
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NPR features and streams new album, Apokalypsis, in its “First Listen” series, 8/14/11. – Read it here…
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PITCHFORK now streaming mp3 “Mer” on FORKCAST, 06/1/11 – Read it here…
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STEREOGUM streaming “Mer”. Plus, RICHARD PHILLIPS’ Sasha Grey video with Chelsea Wolfe’s song “Moses”, 06/1/11- Read it here…
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MORE REVIEWS
MESSIAENESQUE reviews Apokalypsis, 4/17/12. (Romanian Text) – Read it here…
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INK19 reviews Apokalypsis, 3/8/12; “Chelsea Wolfe brutally strips the one-voice/guitar template down to its most intimate essentials.” – Read it here…
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SENTIREASCOLTARE reviews Apokalypsis, calls it a meeting of literary and musical cultural references, 2/1/12. (Italian Text) – Read it here…
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EL LADO OSCURO reviews Apokalypsis and offers a brief bio of Chelsea Wolfe, 1/31/12. (Spanish Text) – Read it here…
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ELECTRONIC BEATS streams “Mer” and says “Apokalypsis LP is certainly one of the most powerful records you’ll hear all year.” 12/28/11. – Listen to it here…
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THE SLEEPING SHAMAN reviews Apokalypsis “…the record shows Wolfe to be a force of nature…” 12/28/11. – Read it here…
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METACRITIC reports favorable reviews for Apokalypsis from various music blogs, 12/15/11. – Read it here…
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WVAU radio reviews Apokalypsis, 12/11/11; “Chelsea Wolfe has lovingly constructed a beautiful and bleak portrait of darkness that will remain listenable for repeat experiences, begging to be deconstructed. Ἀποκάλυψις is gorgeous, bold, and, above all, absolutely pitch-black like no other release this year. It is worth your time. Embrace it.” Read the full review here…
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AQUARIUS RECORDS reviews Apokalypsis, “There’s a grit and a severity to Chelsea Wolfe that makes her a very compelling figure in contemporary music, almost like a musical reincarnation of The Process Church in neo-goth form. Very highly recommended.” – Read it here…
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MIC reviews Apokalypsis on 11/20/11, Gives it an 8 out of 10. (Text in greek) – Read it here…
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TAXI DRIVER reviews Apokalypsis, gives it 4 stars for originality, names “Demons” and “Moses” as stand-out tracks, 11/10/11. (Italiant Text) – Read it here…
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EXAMINER music journalist Andrew Stecz shares his assessment of Apokalypsis, 11/7/11; “If Wolfe makes the same stride toward her next album as she did from her debut to Apokalypsis, then she will probably carve out an album that will darken the dreams of the undead.” – Read it here…
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THE CAVE reviews Apokalypsis, rates album 7.2 out of 10, 11/7/11. (Italian Text) – Read it here…
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INDIE FOR BUNNIES reviews Apokalypsis, draws comparisons to PJ Harvey, Sonic Youth, and Radiohead, 10/24/11. (Italian Text) – Read it here…
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EDIÇÃO LIMITADA reviews Apokalypsis, 10/22/11. (Portuguese Text) – Read it here…
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ROSS GIANFORTUNE reviews Apokalypsis, 10/14/11; “Moses is one of the best songs of 2011.” – Read it here…
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OLOGY shares “Mer” video, CMJ dates, and offers words of praise for Apokalypsis, 10/14/11; “The album is a haunting barrage of ethereal vocals, grinding guitar grit, and enough creepy ambience to out-spook any other quasi-goth acts out there.” – Watch it here…
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ELECTRIC BEATS posts the video for “Mer” and describes Apokalypsis as “a swirling, claustrophobic mix of raw aggression and beautifully dark melodies.” 10/12/11 – Watch it here…
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LEACOCK’S reviews Apokalypsis, 10/7/11; “Her latest album is aptly titled Apokalypsis…because it doesn’t take more than 30 seconds for this hyper-talented woman to transport you to a dark alternate reality… She is ethereal, she is ever present, she is a new evangelist, she is all you’d ever hope music could be.” – Read it here…
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ONE THIRTY BPM reviews Apokalypsis, 10/4/11; “Rather than depending on the intricate studio-techniques of modern technology to create a polished product, Chelsea relies on the rawness of the instruments themselves to create something alive” – Read it here…
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NO ONE TO IMPRESS reviews Apokalypsis, 9/28/11; “Lazy comparisons to Siouxsie or PJ Harvey are a beginning in defining what Ἀποκάλυψις actually sounds like. The record is grounded in so much more though. With its rich textures equally inspired by the darkness of burnt churches and the hope soaked romance of an empty planet. As calming as it is cryptic.” – Read it here…
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TREBLE posts “Mer” in their “Album of the Week Mix”, 9/25/11; “Mer is a perfectly constructed beginning to the strange and otherworldly journey on which Wolfe takes her listeners. Its minor key arpeggios and brushed drums create a gentle juxtaposition against the song’s subtly terrifying ambient sounds and Wolfe’s effects laden vocals” – Read it here…
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MUZIK DIZCOVERY reviews Apokalypsis, 9/19/11; “Chelsea Wolfe has made an unsettling, but comforting record that really displays a great sense of creativity, as well as musicianship.” – Read it here…
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PANOPTICON reviews Apokalypsis, 9/19/11. (Italian Text) – Read it here…
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THE SPEAKER BOX BELOW reviews Apokalypsis, 9/18/11; “Apokalypsis is a great and grandiose achievement for Wolfe who has created a sonic atmosphere which resonates deeply in both the listeners ear and mind.” – Read it here…
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MEAT MEAD METAL reviews Apokalypsis for their “Outer Edges” feature, 9/16/11; “It is absolutely enrapturing, and every time I listen to the record, I find myself in something of a daydream. That makes sense since her music, while folk at heart, does have a lot of trance-like qualities to it, and she achieves noise-scapes that sound like they were culled from lucid dreams.” – Read it here…
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SPUTNIK MUSIC reviews Apokalypsis, 9/15/11; “A stunning release from the up and coming California native who creates music that is truly dark and hard hitting.” – Read it here…
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THE WRENAISSANCE reviews Apokalypsis, 9/15/11; “Ἀποκάλυψις is a collection of dark horror folk songs about a fantastical place of ghosts and demons. In this land, the sounds are echoing; time is distorted and it’s an intriguing 30 minute experience for the listener.” – Read it here…
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MIND EQUALS BLOWN reviews Apokalypsis, 9/12/11; “Chelsea Wolfe seems to have a goal in mind, to make even the creepiest music calm and serene, and I cannot give her enough support.” – Read it here…
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SSG MUSIC reviews Apokalypsis, 9/12/11. – Read it here…
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POP NEWS reviews Apokalypsis, 9/9/11. (Text in French) – Read it here…
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AMERICAN AFTERMATH reviews Apokalypsis, 9/5/11; “Chelsea Wolfe’s Ἀποκάλυψις is its own animal. It is one of the most unique sounding albums to come out this year and makes a lot of the heavy music albums of this year look like garbage.” – Read it here…
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CAMPUS CIRCLE reviews Apokalypsis, 8/31/11; “Wolfe’s voice has been described as haunting and haunted, whether by angels or demons is left for the listener to decide.” – Read it here…
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ALL THE REVERB reviews Apokalypsis, 8/30/11; “I love all of these little sonic subtleties that Chelsea is using, it makes it so every listen I’m able to latch onto something different and it just makes me want to listen to it again and again…I found this album to be an amazing experience and I can’t really remember the last time I’ve felt so moved by a single LP” – Read it here…
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BOOMKAT reviews Apokalypsis, 8/29/11; “Chelsea Wolfe hounds the Goth vibe into ever more enticing alleys with her followup to ‘The Grime And The Glow’. Her 2nd album, ‘Apokalypsis’ opens with a feral snarl before ‘Mer’ exhibits a startling upgrade to her sound, from 8-track tape to full studio clarity.” – Read it here…
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OUR VINYL reviews Apokalypsis, 8/25/11; “Apokalypsis is a genuine piece of art, but only perceived as by those who genuinely listen profoundly to the album. Wolfe’s work has opened up further pathways into her genre for other artists, being the inspirational work that it is. – Read it here…
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AUSTIN TOWN HALL reviews Apokalypsis and posts Advice and Vices, 8/24/11; “…in order to absorb the rich, heavy and blackness of Wolfe’s gothic rock, you need to listen to the whole album, all the way through…In effect, this phenomenon is probably the most unique and alluring factor of Chelsea’s work, and its cohesiveness is a lovely break from the banality of albums that just sit as a collection of similar sounding songs.” – Read it here…
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RUM BUM reviews Apokalypsis, 8/23/11; “Crank the volume way up for the gorgeous “Mer,” with math-rock guitars that recall the angular guitar work of Polvo underneath Wolfe’s vocals that will remind you of a young Polly Jean Harvey.” – Read it here…
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THE AGIT READER reviews Apokalypsis, 8/23/11; “Each song floats into a minimalist space where Ms. Wolfe’s beautiful voice acts as a spoke in a lo-fidelity wheel, giving up complete lyrical understanding for a dark and hissing composition of the whole.” – Read it here…
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NO RIPCORD reviews Apokalypsis, 8/23/11; “Carrying a delicate voice that crackles at its edges, she pours her heart out over a drab sound that paints a sinister portrait of a dark romantic novel.” – Read it here…
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FINE PRINT MAGAZINE reviews apokalypsis, 8/23/11; “From the first proper song “Mer” all the way until the closing notes of “Movie Screen,” Wolfe seems infinitely more comfortable with her voice. It’s been pushed to the forefront here on the album and sounds fuller and bolder even as it continues to be multi-tracked and drenched in reverb.” – Read it here…
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THE A.V. CLUB reviews Apokalypsis, 8/23/11. “As moody drone-folk goes, Wolfe is a successful newcomer: Across the album, minor keys drift through hypnotic, ambient noise before plunging into churning distortion. The record’s most captivating tracks, like “Pale On Pale,” slow things down, sinisterly building with each heave and lurch, like the musical equivalent of throbbing hot coals. ” – Read it here…
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SYMBIOTIC REVIEWS rates Apokalypsis, 8/22/11. “Chelsea Wolfe is more than just the sum of ill-advised yet inevitable attempts to classify her sound. Put simply, she makes stellar rock n’roll music, and some sinister rock n’roll music at that” – Read it here…
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THE OWL MAG reviews Apokalypsis, 8/22/11. “Ἀποκάλυψιςis the type of album that needs to be listened to from start to finish in one sitting. From “Primal/Carnal” to “To The Forest, Towards The Sea,” Wolfe ultimately uses her craft and elevated artistry to play the role of the cinematic storyteller.” – Read it here…
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VENTVOX reviews Apokalypsis, 8/21/11. – Read it here…
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THE DELI reviews Apokalypsis and streams “Mer” mp3, 8/19/11; “The 10-track album is filled with dark, dreamy themes that could serve as the soundtrack to an Alfred Hitchcock film, just as well as a peaceful and unalarming late-night drive.” – Read it here…
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BUY THIS RECORD reviews and recommends Apokalypsis, 8/19/11. – Read it here…
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ELECTRONIC BEATS reviews Apokalypsis, 8/19/11; “Apokalypsis stands out as not only an album of well-executed dread and doom, but also one of immense beauty and real musical talent. This star shines darkly.” Read it here…
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EAR BUDDY reviews Apokalypsis, 8/19/11. Read it here…
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OLOGY reviews Apokalypsis, 8/18/11. “Chelsea’s second album is one of the most beautifully scary things you’re likely to hear all year.” Read it here…
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THE NEEDLE DROP reviews Apokalypsis, 8/18/11. “…what makes the dreary, depressing feelings on this album so palatable is that Wolfe attacks this darkness from multiple angles with noise rock guitars, doom metal riffs, ambient soundscapes, smooth beats, and blood-curdling snarls.” Watch the video here…
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WEST COAST FIX reviews Apokalypsis, 8/17/11. “The feelings of darkness and loneliness is what she is ultimately conveying, and her beautiful, almost angelic voice…” Read it here…
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THE RHYTHM REPORT reviews Apokalypsis, 8/17/11; “Take heed, I don’t recommend listening to Apokalypsis just before bed. (I’ll be sleeping with the lights on tonight.)” Read it here…
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WEARS THE TROUSERS links NPR’s stream of Apokalypsis, 8/17/11. Read it here…
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SF STATION’S PULSE music blog reviews Apokalypsis, 8/16/11; “Channeling the light and dark while singing hauntingly beautiful tunes…” Read it here…
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TREBLE reviews Apokolypsis for its Album Of The Week, 8/14/11; “Possessing both a gift for strangely beautiful songwriting and the ability to conjure up an overwhelming darkness within that beauty, Chelsea Wolfe belongs to a unique class of performers for whom ethereal terror is a valuable gift. While a good number of like-minded musicians have emerged of late, many of them from Los Angeles, Wolfe is the only one to follow these melodic demons to such a satisfyingly disturbing extreme.” - Read it here…
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SF WEEKLY reviews Apokalypsis, 7/20/11; “Chelsea Wolfe’s newest album, Apokalypsis, begins with a bang. But it’s not so much a literal bang as an otherworldly howl. It’s like she’s exorcising demons before the record can begin. That first scream is the 25-second “Primal/Carnal.” As the album continues, the sound softens, if only slightly from the roughness of that initial burst, and unfolds into fully formed songs. Soon, Wolfe treads into P.J. Harvey territory — more like a moody songstress than a demon.” Read it here…
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RAWKBLOG reviews and streams “Mer,” 07/08/11 – “It’s a song I won’t be leaving any time soon.” Read it here…
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ONE THIRTY BPM reviews and streams “Mer”, 07/1/11. “The way a candle flickers in a dark room, offering only quick light to different objects, is how this tune operates. Wolfe herself remains veiled, but parts of her occasionally come into fuzzy view: when that guitar rises we get a taste of her emotional edginess, when she asks questions with her lyrics we can vaguely understand her longings and concerns. But yet, we never get close enough to see the full picture at once. ” – Read it here…
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MODERN MYTHOLOGY reviews Apokalypsis, 06/22/11. “Musical phrases reminiscent of other songs, hints of past arrangements, but heard fresh here with a sense of “this is how it should have been played the first time.” It’s this familiarity that gives Wolfe’s work such an eerie necromantic sensibility.” – Read it here…
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PASTA PRIMAVERA reviews and posts “Mer” and “The Wasteland”, 06/17/11. “More haunting actually and more rock/blues undertones sleeping in there. And for those who like deep mysterious and lush vocals drenched with samples and overlays (which I do) – I’d have to say quite beautiful too.” – Read it here…
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EARS WIDE OPEN on Chelsea’s new album, also streaming “Mer”. 06/16/11. “Whether you find beauty in darkness or just think it’s downright scary, the gothic sheen of Chelsea Wolfe’s ethereal pop noir can be pretty compelling.” – Read it here…
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ADD VOID album review and recommendation, 6/15/11- Read it here…
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RETROBETA reviews “Movie Screen”, 6/13/11. “…filled with dark atmospherics, scratchy effects…the vocals are incredibly good. Don’t miss this gem.” Read it here…
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17 DOTS posts “The Wasteland” with review of new album, 06/7/11. “This is splendid, haunted house music: skin-crawling organ, distant ghostly clattering and Wolfe’s voice — pitch-bent and warped almost beyond recognition — mourning slowly and softly on top of it. It’s terrifically sinister, a fantastic omen of things to come.” – Read it here…
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JUST MUSIC THAT I LIKE posts “Mer” and “The Wasteland”, 06/5/11. “Chelsea’s experimental noise-pop leaves chills running through your body and if she isn’t one of 2011′s break-out artists then something is very wrong indeed.” – Read it here…
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RETROBETA streams “The Wasteland”, 06/4/11- Read it here…
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AFRO-PUNK posted a video dedicated to “alternative women of color” featuring “Mer”, 06/03/11 – See it here…
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WEARS THE TROUSERS MAGAZINE posts “Mer” for Free Music Fridays, 06/3/11 – “Mer is a flowing piece of folk-by-way-of-drone in which Wolfe strings together a collection of seemingly unconnected words and phrases to create a visceral, mildly terrifying picture of an afflicted world.” – Read it here…
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ONE THIRTY BPM posts “Mer” on 06/2/11 – Read it here…
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CENTURIES on Chelsea Wolfe, “Mer” posted, 06/1/11, “Imagine a sprawling, weaving PJ Harvey mixed with the imagination and mystique of Connan Mockasin. Well imagine no longer; the latest offering from California’s Chelsea Wolfe is an amalgamation of wonder, distance and spiralling shapes of colour that lead you to corners of a reality that usually only appear in psychedelic animations, or abstract art.” – Read it here…
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UNDER THE RADAR posts “Mer” on 06/1/11 – Check it out…
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CONSEQUENCE OF SOUND reviews album, 05/23/11. “As a purely noise-laden entity, Wolfe is pleasant to the eardrums, and that makes for a modicum of interest. Apokalypsis is an appropriate album name if there ever was one. Chelsea Wolfe seeks to do everything in her power to remain foreboding, and it’s actually quite entrancing.” – Check it out…
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CHART ATTACK, 05/20/11 – Check it out…
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40 SECONDI reviews Apokalypsis and The Grime and The Glow, 3/25/11. (Italian Text) – Read it here…
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ROSE QUARTZ posts “Pale On Pale” on 10/14/10. “Srsly can’t stop vibing to Chelsea’s sounds right now and I’m down to get my DOOM on to this newie. It seems she’s out to explore the most cinematic and visceral elements of her sound with mammoth echoes and sludge thick enough to drown in. Best listened to in bare flesh, while kneeling down in front of an altar in a candle-lit cavern, this revels in the kinda imagery that kept you up as a child with yr head tucked under the sheets.” – Read it here…
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SICK OF THE RADIO posts “Demons” on 9/18/10. “She reminds me of Nick Cave, Pink Floyd, Sabbath, even Merciful Fate … maybe. It’s an enchanting listen—deeply experimental, narcotic, fantastical, healing to those looking to expand their musical realm.” – Read it here…
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NEU MAGAZINE reviews Ἀποκάλυψις on 09/08/10. “Like an echo of PJ Harvey’s “Dry” days or a fluid Scout Niblett.. a gorgeous collection of powerful emotionally alert pop songs.” – Read it here…
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THE GRIME AND THE GLOW
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REVIEWS
THE LIVING DOORWAY reviews The Grime and The Glow, 1/9/12; “…some of the most hauntingly melancholy female vocals you are ever likely to hear…” – Read it here…
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CANDY RAIN reviews The Grime and The Glow, 07/13/11; “It’s THE record not to miss.” – Read it here…
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DEAFHEAVEN uses “Benjamin” for STEREOGUM’s Under The Influence, 07/6/11. – Read it here…
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PLAYGROUND MAGAZINE reviews The Grime and The Glow, 6/1/11; “There is an almost perfect description of the sound of Chelsea Wolfe: It’s music parking deserts, where at night the wind speaks. The music of amusement parks in silence. The music of decline everywhere.” – Read it here…
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AUSTIN TOWN HALL reviews The Grime and The Glow and streams “Advice and Vices”, 5/31/11; “You’re not likely to find a female musician who comes across as beautifully haunting as Ms. Chelsea Wolfe. It’s not just her look, but the way her songs capture this dark density, then softly wrap that around the gentle cool in her voice.” – Read it here…
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CVLT NATION reviews The Grime and The Glow, 5/25/11; “On her 2010 release, The Grime and the Glow, via Pendu Sound Recordings, she builds her own occult folk statues with eerie vocal skills. She has the power to create dark abstract portraits of nothingness in your thoughts with the tone of her voice.” – Read it here…
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DESTROYED HUMAN reviews The Grime and The Glow, 5/13/11; “The songs are really good, quietly intense in places, more raucous and loose in others. If I had to pick a favourite, the closing “Widow” is a fine piece of dark musical hypnotism and “The Whys” is a raw howl at the campfire moon. But really my favourite song changes everyday.” – Read it here…
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RCRD LBL reviews “Advice and Vices”, 5/12/11; “The frightening “Advice & Vices” by Chelsea Wolfe sounds like it was recorded at the bottom of an elevator shaft after some natural disaster. It’s dark, but not overly so, with a simple riff that recalls Surfer Rosa and a surge of feedback threatening to stop the song in its tracks. Strangest of all, though, is how pretty Wolfe’s voice sounds, even when she’s crooning, “One heart bleeds for another,” sounding like a less jittery Stevie Nicks.” – Read it here…
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ONE THIRTY BPM highlights “Moses” and “Advice and Vices”, 5/7/11; “L.A. songstress Chelsea Wolfe may not be a household name, but tracks “Moses” and “Advice & Vices” ask, well, why not? Dark, often expansive, moving, and personal, these tracks prove that there is still milk in the lo-fi cow, and Wolfe may be one of the best farmers around… Yeah, I don’t know if that metaphor made sense, but this shit is good. Enough said.” – Read it here…
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STRENGTH AND VISION rates The Grime and The Glow as the album of the year, 5/5/11; “I’m rightfully captivated by what I hear. That is not to say she isn’t without comparison; PJ Harvey comes to mind. But it feels fresh. There’s incredible variance in the material: subdued poppy post-punk, end-time folk, discordant funeral blues, something that sounds like a whale song filtered through a guitar, etc. And it’d probably be a lo-fi mess of an album if it weren’t tied together by Wolfe’s hauntingly beautiful vocals, which – with somber bewitchment – create harmony amongst the discordant. 2011 may not be half over yet, but this is my current AOTY.” – Read it here…
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SUBBACULTCHA features Chelsea Wolfe review May issue, 5/1/11. – Read it here…
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HAMMER SMASHED SOUNDS reviews The Grime and The Glow, 4/27/11. – Read it here…
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FINE PRINT MAGAZINE reviews The Grime and The Glow, 4/21/11; “The album is an stunner, never sounding calculated or disingenuous or like it’s trying for the aesthetic she’s nailed. It simply does it. How Wolfe has managed to situate herself so firmly between notable giants of the music world without ever sounding like a well-executed replica is an amazing thing, indeed.” – Read it here…
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AUDIO VOLE reviews The Grime and The Glow, 4/19/11; “It’s easy at first to want to try to compare Wolfe to any number of great past and present female singers. On the album’s opening track, “Advice and Vices”, she sounds a lot like Lykke Li, and “Advices” even feels like it could fit neatly on Lykke Li’s brilliant Wounded Rhymes. I could also see comparisons being made to Patti Smith, Kate Bush, or even Bat for Lashes on any given song. The easiest touchstone is early PJ Harvey, whom Wolfe often lists as an influence. But when taken as a whole, it becomes evidently clear that The Grime and The Glow is a wholly unique effort, equally enchanting and haunting. It’s epically cinematic and seems to float in a terrifyingly ethereal haze.” – Read it here…
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THE DEARTH reviews the Grime and The Glow, 4/7/11; “For the select few who found themselves disappointed by Polly Jean Harvey’s latest release Let England Shake (I consider myself one of those outcasts), may you seek solace in an otherworldly newcomer here to take the reins—Chelsea Wolfe. Having recently discovered her album The Grime and The Glow, I find I now have to revamp all my “Best of 2010” lists to accommodate her (and her rightful place towards the top).” – Read it here…
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SYMBIOTIC REVIEWS review The Grime and The Glow, 4/6/11; “Singer/songwriter Chelsea Wolfe’s latest LP The Grime and the Glow, released in late 2010, just might be the most disconcerting and utterly absorbing record to come out of the psych/doom/gothic pop genre in some time. In fact, one is encouraged to simply throw out genre preconceptions altogether as Wolfe (aided adeptly by a full band), seeks to burrow deep into the subconscious of the listener to create an effect close to hypnosis.” – Read it here…
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ECLAT reviews The Grime and The Glow, 4/5/11; “In the future we want our attention again to new and interesting bands and musicians. The prelude to this makes an artist from the United States, indicating an inspiration as heavy lumps like the movie “Mulholland Drive” by David Lynch and the novel “Death on Credit” by the French writer Céline. Ladies and gentlemen, Chelsea Wolfe. With distorted guitars of tube amplifiers, roaring bass and plaintive singing it creates a third, a vacuum. It is an enormously reduced sound of the nuances that lay on the environment as a lead sheath. ”
- Read it here…
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INDIE-EYE reviews The Grime and The Glow, 3/31/11. – Read it here…
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MUSIC IS POSTEROUS reviews The Grime and The Glow, 3/20/11; “I was recently introduced to the ethereal, noisy, lo-fi folk of Chelsea Wolfe by a friend (fellow audiophile Alex), and for the last two weeks I found myself with little desire to listen to anything else, such was the dark hypnotic pull of her fractured compositions.” – Read it here…
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AQUARIUS RECORDS reviews The Grime and The Glow, 3/17/11; “Yeah, she covered a Burzum song before releasing this album, but there’s a hell of lot more to Chelsea Wolfe than copping a few moves from Mr. Vikernes. This Los Angeles minstrel has quipped she writes “spiritual realm funeral songs,” and that’s a pretty apt description given the acoustic guitar dourness, doom-laden atmospheres, grimy production values, and witchy goth-folk vocals that come together as the perfect hybridization of Zola Jesus and PJ Harvey.” – Read it here…
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ROUGH TRADE reviews The Grime and The Glow, 3/15/11; “Absolutely perfect gothicly corrupted pop music from darkly inclined chelsea wolfe. wolfe’s sound can begin sweetly in the pop realm and then veer wildly into industrial clatter or zola jesus-style crooning. like mushy or even esben and the witch, the music here seems to emit from a darkly glowing netherworld between sleep and nightmare, where bedroom musicians either cloak their tunes in festering noise washes or whittle down the harshness to reveal a shimmering pop nugget. there’s a lot of space between the clatterings and whisperings: ‘the grime and the glow’ is one of the creepiest lps we’ve heard in a while.”- Read it here…
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KONZERTTAGEBUCH reviews The Grime and The Glow, 3/8/11; “Before Julianna Barwick originally from Los Angeles had occurred Chelsea Wolfe. A Gothic-dressed woman who had hidden her face behind a black veil and celebrated pitch-black music. Her voice reminded me of Marissa Nadler and the whole thing had made me so curious that I bought their CD afterwards. It will occur in the coming days and weeks several times in Paris, I can report more details. Should not be suppressed the guest appearance of a veiled woman on the other end of the set of Chelsea Wolfe, who gave two very experimental songs. In a piece she had a tape of Russian spoken word and accompanied the run babble some point with its own voice.” – Read it here…
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ABOUT.COM reviews The Grime and The Glow, 3/8/11; “For nearly two decades, the eeriest version of “You Are My Sunshine” ever committed to tape was by slowcore titans Low. But Chelsea Wolfe obliterates that with a seven-minute séance —all down-the-hallway-wails, secretive spoken word, and sheets of lacy noise— that closes 2010′s The Grime and The Glow.” – Read it here…
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TRINITY STARDUST reviews The Grime and The Glow, 2/28/11; “Wolfe’s debut The Grime and The Glow has a lot of haunting echoes to it, both literally and figuratively. Wolfe’s ethereal voice creeps from out of the air like full moon lit incantations of a witchcraft ritual buried deep in the woods. The lo-fi production further clouds her with despair making each song sound like its a plea sung from the deathbed.” – Read it here…
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AWD CASTLES reviews The Grime and The Glow, 2/28/11; “Some of the most chilling vocals I’ve ever really come across. Tearing every bit of emotion and leaving almost nothing behind. It’s an out-of-body experience packaged into 53 minutes and 12 seconds. Casted perceptions may not be visibly apparent, but eyes-closed and lying down there’s almost a feeling and it’s all very sensible, it’s all very distinct.” – Read it here…
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NO STRANGER FEELING reviews The Grime and The Glow, 2/25/11; “Her voice serves as the heart and soul of her music, while the ghostly, atmospheric sludge of the accompanying funeral pianos and distant guitars serve as the album’s chilly, clattering bones. Her recordings are both immediate and eternal, summoning a peaceful dark energy which feeds off the tenderness of the soul.” – No Stranger Feeling
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VICE ITALY reviews The Grime and The Glow, 2/23/11; “I make music that girls today do not like. Ok, someone. Some type Marissa Nadler and Zola Jesus. When I heard this record I thought, “Finally.” Because this girl has taken the best things about Zola Jesus and Marissa Nadler and put them together. It is that very dark folk, lo-fi and melancholy that makes you want to drop everything and moved to Norway to cry in the snow. This is what makes emo folk even the bullies that come with the vest and pierced listen gabber.” – Read it here…
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LAST LIE I TOLD YOU reviews The Grime and The Glow, 2/21/11; “Dark, atmospheric lo-fi a la Teengirl Fantasy, Zola, Soap&Skin. LP Released on Pendu Sound Recordings, 2010. Good Stuff.” – Read it here…
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ATELECINE recommends The Grime and The Glow, 2/15/11; “Loving The Grim and the Glow by Chelsea Wolfe. This is a record you need to have to complete your sullen collection.” – Read it here…
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ROCK INSIDER reviews The Grime and The Glow, 2/10/11; “Chelsea Wolfe’s music allows the listener to paint their own gothic scene with always a glimmer of light at the end. This kind of artistry is in short supply these days.” – Read it here…
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I LISTEN SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO reviews The Grime and The Glow, 2/1/11; “Chelsea‘s voice first entered my world through a cover of Burzum’s Black Spell of Destruction. And while Fallen and The Grime And The Glow couldn’t be more different, there are similarities that cannot be overlooked. Both albums have a way of getting into your subconscious and putting you in a trace-like state. Putting a ‘spell‘ on you is how Varg put it. And Chelsea has put a spell on me for sure. Her voice whispering not-so-sweet nothings in your ear will have you giving yourself over without a struggle only to find yourself violently rejected on (hard to listen to) tracks like Deep Talks and The Whys.” – Read it here…
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METAL ARMY AMERICA reviews The Grime and The Glow, 1/31/11; “Her music is more Marissa Nadler fighting to the death with a more morose Lykke Li (at least vocally), but her aesthetic is more true black metal than many of the umpteen million black metal bands that have popped up the last decade.” – Read it here…
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INDIE-SKIES reviews The Grime and The Glow, 1/30/11; “The new work of one of the most experimental indie singers of our time is a sort of journey to nowhere. It’s like a one way ticket with no turning back.” – Read it here…
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HER NAME WAS BOXCAR reviews The Grime and The Glow, 1/30/11; “Another woman with an unforgettable voice, Chelsea Wolfe makes you fall in love with the rough edges of life. A voice so powerful you forget what the world was like before you heard it. Haunting.” – Read it here…
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ANGLOPHONIC reviews The Grime and The Glow, 1/28/11; “This is a semi-mental manifesto with an agenda, clearly composed and performed for manic depressives by an extremely dark person. That person likely reads books with symbols in them and is the reincarnation of a young Birthday Party-era Nick Cave…who just happens to also be on a 36-hour bender, beating the crap out of a car with a sledgehammer in between sips of Kentucky bourbon.” – Read it here…
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DEAD AS DIGITAL reviews The Grime and The Glow, 1/28/11; “In last years The Grime And The Glow she really slammed into a cohesive statement that’s impossible to ignore. So stick it in Witch House, Trap it in Dark Wave or drown it in Horror-Core, if you want. But in the end, it’s going to find you.” – Read it here…
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CREAM TEAM TV reviews The Grime and The Glow, 1/28/11; “And even though the styles shift, sometimes wildly, from demo sounding blues rock, fuzzed out indie, and piano meditations, they all orbit Chelsea’s magnetic vocal personality, a mix of exorcised demons and raw sexuality.” – Read it here…
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NORTH BY NORTHWESTERN reviews The Grime and The Glow, 1/24/11; “With this newest album, Wolfe proves she can successfully mesh Gothic tendencies with calming, sway-inducing harmonies and create sounds that are simultaneously disconcerting and soothing — sounds that can be both introverted and exploratory while also being noisy and experimental.” – Read it here…
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RADIATED SOUNDS reviews The Grime and The Glow, 1/21/11 – “Chelsea Wolfe excels at dark, folk-inspired music backed by some of the most haunting vocals you’ll ever hear.” – Read it here…
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MERRY MELODIES reviews The Grime and The Glow, 1/21/11; “Musically she plays dark-folk, think Marissa Nadler with the ferocity of Rose Kemp permeated with a menacing black-metal atmosphere.” – Read it here…
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HEARING TO LISTEN reviews The Grime and The Glow, 1/18/11; “The music’s buried folk makes the songs replayable when you’re in any mood, but the songs all give you the feeling they were conceived from dark poetry late in the night.” – Read it here…
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BOOMKAT reviews The Grime and The Glow, 1/17/11; “There’s a lugubrious, lead-hearted aesthetic at the core of ‘The Grime and the Glow’, from overcast neo-folk like ‘Cousins Of The Antichrist’, to chillingly maudlin garage in ‘Moses’, the solo piano extractions of ‘Benjamin’ and the Marissa Nadler atmospherics of ‘Halfsleeper’, but the most tangible, memorable moments occur with the scouring guitars of ‘Bounce House Demons’ and the incredibly ethereal ‘Widow’. Don’t pass over this one, there’s just something about it…” – Read it here…
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INDIE-EYE reviews The Grime And The Glow, 01/15/11. (Italian Text) – Read it here…
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17 DOTS reviews The Grime and The Glow, 1/12/11; “Chelsea Wolfe is a big part of that: this record has been buzzed about for months now, and here it is: scuzzed-up and skin-crawling and creepy. Think the first few Siouxsie & the Banshees records, with more fog. Guess what? It’s great.”- 17 Dots
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REBEL reviews The Grime and The Glow, 1/10/11; “The Grime And The Glow is an extension of that sinister place in everyone’s psyche given musical form. Embrace it.” – Read it here…
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ROSE QUARTZ highlights “Halfsleeper” from The Grime and The Glow, 1/10/11; “Lulling me into a half-dreamt and half-conscious state, pretty hypnotised right now by this new “intimate” number from perennial RQ fave, Chelsea Wolfe.” – Read it here…
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SAD BIRTHDAYS reviews The Grime and The Glow, 1/10/11; “Chelsea Wolfe is the music of the teenage occult. This is the music of cold fronts, abandoned buildings and winter evenings. The music to full the spaces between this life and the next.” – Read it here…
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THE CREATIVE INTERSECTION reviews The Grime and The Glow, 1/7/11; “But for all the soul crushing darkness that is churned out from the music, it amounts to something quite beautiful. A dark, eerie beauty, but a beauty none the less. Both songs are off Wolfe’s new aptly titled album The Grime and The Glow, which if I wasn’t so strapped for cash would buy in an instant.” – Read it here…
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MISHKA NYC reviews The Grime and The Glow, 1/7/11; “It’s the PJ Harvey/Hope Sandoval Effect: a voice so pure and pain-fractured—songs so dark, disorienting and beautifully happy-sad—you hardly remember, at least in that moment, what the world felt like before them.” – Read it here…
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THIS IS THE UNIVERSE reviews The Grime and The Glow, 1/6/11; “Whether it’s the gorgeous harmony on “Halfsleeper” or the pounding electro beat in “Moses”, The Grime and The Glow is the best album from 2010 you’ve never heard.” – Read it here…
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EVERYTHING IS CHEMICAL reviews The Grime and The Glow, 1/6/11; “I don’t care if it technically came out late last year, I’m saying Chelsea’s debut opus is a contender for this years best album.. Please, please get yourself acquainted with her NOW.” – Read it here…
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GET OFF THE COAST reviews The Grime and The Glow, 1/5/11; “Wolfe’s apocalyptic folk relies on the chaos and destruction she creates with her music to set up the mournful stories she weaves. Every song on the album chills me to the core while leaving me begging for more.” – Read it here…
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CLAP CLAP COLOUR reviews The Grime and The Glow, 1/4/11; “Since my knowledge of Estonian industrial music is non-existent I won’t say anything on that particular subject, but experimental goth-folk does seem like a good description of what the music sounds like. When I first listened through The Grime and the Glow, one of the artists that popped in my mind was, strangely enough, Zola Jesus.” – Read it here…
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DECIREVES reviews The Grime and The Glow, 1/2/11; “A record that deserves multiple listens to digest as a whole, an impressive work that does not seek the cheap tinsel and glitter of the commercial music trade.” (Spanish Text) – Read it here…
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THE END OF BEING reviews The Grime and The Glow, 12/30/10; “Her lo-fi, static-hiss atmosphere explores the beautiful side of noise in a setting of folk-based, singer-songwriter tunes that showcase her amazingly strong voice and creative song structures. She has called her work “spiritual realm funeral songs” and labeled them “Estonian industrial.” Chelsea Wolfe’s debut full-length The Grime And The Glow comes out at the end of the month via Pendu Sound Recordings.” – Read it here…
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STEREOGUM’S “Haunting The Chapel” feature lists “The Grime and The Glow” as one of the top 50 Albums of 2010, 12/21/10 – Read it here…
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I LISTEN SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO recommends The Grime and The Glow, 12/14/10; “…She creates dark, ambient spaces to pour her voice into and when it all escapes into the atmosphere, it bridges the gap between modern lo-fi, psychedelic folk/pop and black metal. Darkwave is the term that was thrown around the most for Zola Jesus, but I think a new subgenre will be born of Chelsea‘s work …something like doomscape or blackwave.” – Read it here…
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STEREOGUM on The Grime and The Glow, 12/13/10; “L.A.’s Chelsea Wolfe composes fractured, noisy, abstract, experimental and exploratory gothy doom-folk that reminds me a bit of Portal Of Sorrow, Marissa Nadler’s collaboration with Xasthur. Wolfe’s debut full-length The Grime And The Glow comes out at the end of the month via Pendu Sound Recordings, who recently released aTelecine’s A Cassette Tape Culture (and spoke eloquently about the passing of Peter Christopherson).” – Read it here…
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GALLERY 3209 quotes Kossmos, Russia on Chelsea Wolfe, 12/7/10; “This is the music of deserted parking lots, where the wind talks at night, the music of silent theme parks, the music of all decaying palaces.” – Read it here…
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SUBMERGE reviews The Grime and The Glow, 7/23/10; “Ravens perched on bare branches, snow falling on tombstones, wooden shutters clattering against cloudy window panes in a strong gale—these are just some of the visuals The Grime and the Glow, the latest fulllength album from Sacramento songwriter Chelsea Wolfe, may conjure in the imagination of the listener.” – Read it here…
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