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Oct 3, 2011While Conatus isn't as direct as Stridulum, it's still some of her most satisfying work.
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Oct 5, 2011Though some may miss the rough and raw approach of her last two EPs, it's refreshing and exciting to hear music that relies on bone-hard essence rather than gauzy trimmings to create an aura of mystery.
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UncutOct 3, 2011It works best when her vocal is minimally adorned. [Oct 2011, p.105]
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Oct 5, 2011It's enchanting, exhausting, cathartic, borderline traumatic, and curiously beautiful to its dying breath.
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Q MagazineNov 9, 2011All told, this is a mind-blowing and powerfully emotional album, however you (or she) want to label it. [Nov. 2011, p. 143]
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Sep 27, 2011Mostly, though, Conatus gives you a more polished version of exactly what you'd want from a Zola Jesus album.
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Sep 28, 2011More bare structurally, musically and emotionally than its predecessor, yet by the same token, fuller and more alive, it is an amazing work that showcases a phenomenal talent and a unique voice.
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Under The RadarNov 3, 2011Conatus displays a more somber, graceful side of Zola Jesus. Those qualities are typically present in her music, but this album lacks any of those gripping, triumphant moments. [Oct 2011, p.103]
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Sep 28, 2011Haunting until its final breath is drawn, Conatus pretty much does what it says on the packaging, its creator's endeavours in no way wasted on what is a worthy addition to a body of work of uncompromising consistency.
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Oct 4, 2011Slashed by shards and shadows, Conatus is Zola Jesus' best album to date.
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Sep 27, 2011While her sound is still dominated by typical darkwave elements--doomy synths and the pishy patter of minimal drum machines--the rest is unexpectedly warm, illuminated by her indomitable voice.
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Oct 5, 2011Despite its uneven spark, the best bits sting like cigarette ash in the cornea.
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Sep 29, 2011Rather than radically reinventing the sound from Danilova's second full length, 2010's Stridulum II, Conatus comes across as a more fully-realized Zola Jesus production.
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Sep 27, 2011Stepping out of the shadows suits her after all.
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Oct 3, 2011Danilova takes the peaks higher than ever and manages to avoid both the pitfalls of monotony and excessive experimentation.
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Oct 7, 2011Like her prior work, the songs are thematically dark and diffuse, but the dancey impulses on Vessel and Seekir signal headier paths ahead.
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Oct 5, 2011Ultimately Conatus makes for a very sensuous, luxurious forty minutes, but it's minor flaws like these that prevent it from hitting quite as hard as it could have done, and from being the unqualified success that Stridulum II was.
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MagnetNov 11, 2011Conatus hits like a miniature hurricane in a box. [#81, p. 60]
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Oct 25, 2011The balance of Conatus comes off a bit too formulaic and familiar; after a while, you realize it's sort of one-trick, with Danilova pairing her--admittedly stunning-voice and platitude-heavy lyrics with stomping electro beats.
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Sep 27, 2011Conatus seldom reaches the same level of experimentation as Danilova's collaborations with the likes of LA Vampires. But what she proffers instead is far tastier: a deft fine-tuning of the slick and stylish formula of Stridilum II, with the slightly schlockier moments of melodrama eschewed for something more sophisticated.
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Sep 27, 2011This is a strong record, there's no doubting that--but it still feels like the best is yet to come from Danilova.
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Oct 4, 2011Otherworldly, weird and downright gorgeous. Siouxsie oughta be proud.
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Oct 4, 2011The album shows Danilova making a conscious and admirable effort to try take another step in the right direction and for the most part it's hard to fault her.
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Oct 4, 2011Toward the end of this thoroughly bewitching album, Danilova even dispenses with the security-blanket gloom, singing a stark piano ballad not far removed from Adele's "Someone Like You."
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Nov 21, 2011Conatus continues her roll with more astounding music that sounds better with each listen and during this day and age, what more could you ask for in an album?
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Oct 20, 2011The operatics of her voice make it the most intriguing instrument on the album but the new exploration of violins and cellos that feminize the massive drum fills make Conatus even more astounding.
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Oct 3, 2011Conatus is Zola Jesus' most gratifying offering so far.
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Oct 12, 2011Danilova has crafted perhaps the year's most emphatically romantic record--defiant, loyal, indomitable.
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Sep 27, 2011Danilova's commanding tones evoking nameless terrors over wonderful doom-laden synth-rock.
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Oct 5, 2011Towards the end of the album, tracks tend to blend into each other. Jesus definitely continues to push what she's good at, but this doesn't make for much variety.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 22 out of 25
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Mixed: 2 out of 25
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Negative: 1 out of 25
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Oct 4, 2011