“Sleep and dream issues have followed me my whole life,” admits Chelsea Wolfe, and Abyss, the 2015 effort from the LA-based singer/songwriter, challenges such complications head on. Dark and hazy but bizarrely soothing moments are contrasted by intense and upsetting junctures, and the album, which she describes as “an inverted thunderstorm, the dark backward, the abyss of time” is an intriguing body of work that confronts various layers of the human psyche. Check out the pounding, industrial lurch of the opener “Carrion Flowers,” which Wolfe injects a flood of emotion with hypnotic vocals, or “After the Fall,” a standout “drone-metal-art-folk” tune that experiments with abrupt tonal shifts. Other notable tracks include “Maw,” “Crazy Love,” “Iron Moon,” and the title track (also the closer), but the only way to truly take in the emotionally vast album is to go through it from top to bottom.

• 10th anniversary edition
• blue, black & silver 'insomnia' colored double vinyl pressing
• indie exclusive
• silver foil-stamped gatefold sleeve
• limited edition
• original release year: 2015
• music label: Sargent House 2025

reviewed by buffalo fingers 05/2016