It’s a good time to be a fan of female-led indie dance bangers. If Röyksopp & Robyn’s mini album Do It Again hasn’t caught your interest than perhaps Grimes’ Rihanna intended ‘Go’ has?
The first single from Nika Danilova’s latest LP as Zola Jesus, Taiga, runs in a vein that isn’t quite so dissimilar from the former and yet it feels like a crime to compare Zola Jesus to anyone. Such is the esteem that the songstress is held in that her dominant and affecting vocals are enough to leave her trademark stamp on just about any sound. The rising synths and walloping drums of ‘Dangerous Days’ takes everything we know from synth pop and provides it with a dark edge.
“In the way, the way you hold yourself straight, you never were innocent, and then I just lay here frozen, curious” sings Danilova on the track. Her lyrics along with those unmistakable pipes are what keeps this track from being saccharine. After the excellent Conatus in 2011 and 2013’s string-led Versions ‘Dangerous Days’ sounds like Zola Jesus at her most accessible yet. And boy is the dancefloor thankful for that.
