Apokalypsis (Chelsea Wolfe album)


Apokalypsis is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Chelsea Wolfe, released on Pendu Sound Recordings on August 23, 2011.

Writing and composition

The tracks "Demons" and "Moses" are re-recordings of two songs which previously appeared on Wolfe's previous album The Grime and The Glow as "Bounce House Demons" and "Moses," respectively.
On the Bandcamp release of the album, an alternate version of "Primal / Carnal" exists with an accompanying backing instrumental that runs at about a minute in length.
The album features a folk rock sound that was labeled as "doom-folk" and "drone-folk" by the critics.

Album art

The album cover, as stated by Wolfe in an interview with Self-titled Magazine, explained, "with the eyes blanked out in white, is meant to represent a sense of epiphany and the positivity in realizing and accepting truths, whether they are beautiful or hideous."

Reception

Aggregating website Metacritic reports a normalised rating of 67% based on 5 critical reviews which indicates "generally favorable reviews".
CMJ's Sasha Patpatia noted, "Songs like 'Wasteland' and 'Pale On Pale' drop the energy and could easily be forgotten among the stronger tracks on the album. The instrumentation on each song, though, is rich and brooding, weaving a distinguishable sound that suitably ties Apokalypsis together," adding, "'Movie Screen' is stunning. It seems otherworldly and is the first real sample of Wolfe’s amazing and deep vocal range. This song is the spookiest track on the album, even creepier than 'Primal/Carnal' because it feels much more personal than the horror-film soundtrack." Pitchfork's David Raposa observed, "She's able to approximate the general pallor and stuttering sample-based rhythms of Dummy-era Portishead, makes like a superfan of Zola Jesus' The Spoils, apes early PJ Harvey, and even recalls the icy allure and off-kilter harmonies of the Knife. It speaks favorably to Wolfe's abilities that she's able to approximate all these different styles successfully, but these tracks don't say much about who Wolfe actually is."

Track listing

Personnel

;Band
;Production personnel