musicAddicted

It was a great decision to publish Vessel as the lead single of Zola Jesus’ third album Conatus and, similarly, to create its video earlier than any other song gets its own. Even though this song is probably the least representative piece out of the entire album – somehow stuck in the era of her previous album Stridulum II – it’s the most pleasurable and emotive composition here. Zola portrays her inner prison via stark percussion and dominating beat which recalls Portishead in their post-Third period while the synthesizers remind of 80’s dark romantic wave, which presented a smoother and more feminine counterpart to post-punk and more poppier version of Krautrock. Luckily, these are just mere inspirations; some kind of framework within which Zola Jesus operates.

The video follows all these influences in an impressive way. Monochromatic and elegant, the beginning reminds me of iamamiwhoami’s high-conceptual art. Vessel too portrays a being (you’ll soon know what it is) in a womb rich on viscid black liquid. Soon Zola Jesus leaves her uterus to get know the world around – empty like a desert, dark as night, labile as an earthquake and dangerous as an avalanche. But the beautiful new-born doesn’t know this; Zola slowly cruises through this void space and becomes a part of it: gloomy and fearful while imprisoned in her limbo. Hopefully, more thoughtful but minimal videos come from Zola Jesus’ fresh Conatus.