Conatus

Conatus is the current destination of a journey started in 2008. From her sludge-noisy lo-fi beginnings, Nika Danilova has emerged as one of the most talked-about names in underground pop. And pop this record is, in an abstract sort of way. It starts promisingly with 'Swords', thudding bassed-out beats with just a hint of glitch in them while Danilova vocalizes wordlessly. Tribal drumbeats lead into the heartbeat of 'Avalanche', a beautiful track packed with just the right amount of regret and simmering rage that has characterized her past work. 'Vessel' is even better, crunchy kicks over simple piano stabs forming a beat that owes as much to hip-hop as it does industrial. When the chorus kicks in, it's an aching crunch that penetrates the chest. 'Hikikomori' goes a bit more upbeat, which in this context equates to 'not entirely soul-crushed'.

'Seeker' is the most transparently 'pop' song on the album, a stripped-down electro beat over the now-familiar powerful voice. Tracks like the clockwork fizz of 'Shivers' and the joyously lovely piano ballad 'Skin' showcase more of Danilova's various influences at their strongest, but now, unfortunately, is where we begin to see one of Conatus' fatal flaws: take away the music and the vocals are essentially interchangable. Like a wind-up mechanical toy, Danilova follows a simple pattern with very little variance. While this voice is her strength, her reliance on straightforward singing with it is the weakness that makes listening to the album straight-through tiring. 'Ixode' is perhaps the exception; while the beat drops hard, the main vocals are more subtle and backed by another vocal layer that soars like Liz Frasier at her near-best.

This is Zola Js first record where she really lets her love of pop shine through, and it's also the most well-produced. I'm really looking forward to seeing her take that powerful voice and attempt more new things with it; with practice, it could be as diverse as a weapon or a lover's hand. But the tracks on Conatus, while filled with some truly shining moments, are probably best listened to selectively instead of as a whole.