Undone EP

''She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She'' is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Chelsea Wolfe. It was released on February 9, 2024, by Loma Vista Recordings, her first album with the label. It was preceded by four singles.

The album was recorded with producer and TV on the Radio guitarist Dave Sitek, as well as regular Wolfe collaborators Ben Chisholm, Bryan Tulao, and Jess Gowrie. It consists primarily of electronica, with significant influence of trip hop, gothic rock, and industrial music, and was mainly inspired by Wolfe achieving sobriety in January 2021. It was received positively by critics, who described the album as ambitious, adventurous, and sonically disparate.

The album was followed by two EPs. The first was a remix EP, '' Undone EP'', released on August 30, featuring remixes by Ash Koosha, Full of Hell, Boy Harsher, Justin K Broadrick, Forest Swords, and Crosses. The second, the '' Unbound EP'' of acoustic renditions of songs from the album, was released on November 15.

Background

After starting work on the album in 2020, Wolfe made the decision to get sober in January 2021. She had started drinking alcohol as a preteen, and realized in her adult years that she was relying on it to "push myself past my own energetic limits, and just do too much." Having struggled in the past to write about deeply personal subject matter, Wolfe waited until she felt "like I was really solid in my sobriety and like it was going to really stick" before she was ready to tackle her struggles in song. Wolfe also noted the inspiration of seeing a friend leave a toxic relationship of 30 years and learning how to live on their own again, and musical influences including the Depeche Mode album '' Violator'', Nine Inch Nails, and Tricky.

When asked for ten songs that influenced the album, Wolfe named Depeche Mode's " Waiting for the Night", the Smashing Pumpkins's " Daphne Descends", Björk's "Bachelorette", Madonna's " Frozen", Nine Inch Nails's "The Hand That Feeds", Massive Attack's "Teardrop", Low's " Rome (Always in the Dark), Radiohead's " Where I End and You Begin, TV on the Radio's " Staring at the Sun", and Lhasa de Sela's " Anywhere on This Road".

According to Wolfe, the album's title refers to "the past version of yourself connecting with the present version of yourself, connecting with the future version of yourself". The album cover features Wolfe holding a glass egg which, to her, represented possibility. The image was meant to convey a nurturing tone.

Release

On September 20, 2023, Wolfe announced that she had signed with Loma Vista, and released the album's lead single "Dusk". ''Consequence'' declared it the Heavy Song of the Week, with Jon Hadusek calling it "genre-defying" and saying it "deserves to be heard on a good set of speakers or headphones." Along the release of "Dusk", Wolfe announced a US and Canada tour with Divide and Dissolve for February and March 2024.

The album was announced on October 24, 2023, with a release date of February 9, 2024, by Loma Vista. It came with the release of the second single, "Whispers in the Echo Chamber", and a music video directed by George Gallardo Kattah. With the announcement, Wolfe stated that the album was about "the past self reaching out to the present self reaching out to the future self to summon change, growth, and guidance."

The third single, "Tunnel Lights", was released on November 28, with another video directed by Gallardo Kattah. On January 17, 2024, Wolfe released the fourth single, "Everything Turns Blue", with a visualizer and a statement that the song is about "finding yourself again after a long era of being part of something toxic. Making a split with someone after 10 years, 20 years, 30 years — there's going to be some high highs and low lows as you begin to process it all."

Style

The album mainly consists of electronica, and features significant influence of trip hop, gothic rock, and industrial music. Some tracks include industrial metal, darkwave, electropop, jazz-metal, and IDM. The electronic elements of the album have been described as "gaseous", "minimalist", "lush", "cavernous", and a "buzzing embrace".

Critical reception

'' Uncut''s Johnny Sharp wrote that while Wolfe "tries too hard" with opener "Whispers in the Echo Chamber", her "talent for a melodramatic hook wins through" on "Tunnel Lights" and "Everything Turns Blue". ''Slant Magazine''s Steve Erickson noted a tension in Wolfe's music between her "tendency to overdramatize or cloak her pain in gothic imagery and a genuine yearning to be heard and understood", saying ''She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She'' is more often the latter.

'' Clash''s Tom Morgan said that while "it'd be difficult to proclaim it her finest work", the album is "certainly Wolfe's most ambitious and careful-constructed". ''Exclaim!''s Marko Djurdjić called the album "a wondrous, rhythmic exercise in acceptance, change and self-love." ''Kerrang!''s Sam Law said the album "may be the most creatively adventurous of her career", and called it "a promise that as brilliantly beguiling as Chelsea Wolfe has always been, her big picture is still coming into focus".

''The Line of Best Fit''s Greg Hyde wrote that "it is clear when listening to the album after learning of Wolfe's intended vision for it that she has executed it greatly", and said that "fans of artists as disparate as Converge and Tricky should love it". '' The Skinny''s Adam Turner-Heffer called the album "another successful reinvention from the Californian artist". AllMusic's Heather Phares called the album "hopeful in a deeply honest way" and said it "chronicles an evolution that brings out the best, most adventurous aspects of Wolfe's music." In a less positive review, ''PopMatters''s Adriane Pontecorvo wrote that "while olfe'sdisparate choices of canvas give us a bumpy ride, it's one worth taking in good faith."

Track listing

Personnel

* Chelsea Wolfe – vocals
* Dave Sitek – producer
* Ben Chisholm – piano, synthesizer, drum programming
* Bryan Tulao – guitar
* Jess Gowrie – drums, synthesizer, guitar (2)
* Derek Coburn – recording engineer
* Shawn Everett – mixing engineer
* Heba Kadry – mastering engineer
* Seth Presant – immersive mix engineer

Charts

EPs

''Undone EP''

On August 2, Wolfe announced the ''Undone EP'', a six-track EP of remixes of songs from the album. The project features remixes by Ash Koosha, Full of Hell, Boy Harsher, Justin K Broadrick, Forest Swords, and Crosses. It was released on August 30 by Loma Vista. Boy Harsher's remix of "House of Self-Undoing" was released on June 11, and Crosses's remix of "Tunnel Lights" was released on August 2.

Track listing

''Unbound EP''

On October 15, Wolfe announced the ''Unbound EP'', an EP of acoustic renditions of four songs from the album and a cover of the Spiritbox song "Cellar Door". Wolfe previously performed her version of "Cellar Door" on the BBC Radio 1 Rock Show, to which Spiritbox vocalist Courtney LaPlante responded approvingly. The EP was released on November 15 by Loma Vista. With the announcement, Wolfe released a music video for the new version of "Place in the Sun".

Anthony Fantano ranked the EP at 13 out of his top 15 EPs of 2024, saying that while he liked ''She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She'', he found an appreciation in the ''Unbound EP'' bringing a stripped-back intimacy to the songs which the album lacked.

Track listing

References

{{Chelsea Wolfe

2024 albums
Chelsea Wolfe albums
Loma Vista Recordings albums
Albums produced by Dave Sitek
Electronica albums by American artists