Neofolk singer-songwriter Chelsea Wolfe has announced a new forthcoming album, Birth of Violence, her first record since 2017’s Hiss Spun, out September 13th.
The new album will see Wolfe stepping into “a more folk leaning sound,” according to a press statement, and her lead single and opener “The Mother Road,” described as “a harrowing ode to Route 66,” certainly suggests so. Over a haunting strumming pattern of acoustic guitar, Wolfe compares herself to “a spider in Chernobyl” and repeats a morbid resignation: “Guess I need someone to break me/Guess I need someone to shake me up.” Her new sound may be folksier than her earlier, heavy metal-inspired work, but it’s no less goth.
“I’ve been in a state of constant motion for the past eight years or so; touring, moving, playing new stages, exploring new places and meeting new people-an incredible time of learning and growing as a musician and performer,” says Wolfe. “But after awhile, I was beginning to lose a part of myself. I needed to take some time away from the road to get my head straight, to learn to take better care of myself, and to write and record as much as I can while I have ‘Mercury in my hands,’ as a wise friend put it.”
Wolfe will embark on a tour in support of Birth of Violence this August, kicking off at The Cure’s Daydream Festival in Pasadena, CA. The tour will continue with acoustic sets in dozens of North American cities before concluding in Vancouver, BC, on November 21st.
Birth of Violence Track List
1 – The Mother Road
2 – American Darkness
3 – Birth of Violence
4 – Deranged for Rock & Roll
5 – Be All Things
6 – Erde
7 – When Anger Turns to Honey
8 – Dirt Universe
9 – Little Grave
10 – Preface to a Dream Play
11 – Highway
Chelsea Wolfe Tour Dates
August 31 – Pasadena, CA @ Pasadena Daydream Festival (Non Acoustic Set)
October 18 – San Diego, CA @ Observatory North Park
October 19 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
October 21 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall
October 22 – Estes Park, CO @ Stanley Hotel
October 24 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
October 25 – Detroit, MI @ Senate Theater
October 26 – Toronto, ONT @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
October 27 – Montreal, QC @ Le National
October 29 – Boston, MA @ Royale
October 31 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
November 1 – New York, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
November 3 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
November 4 – Charlotte, NC @ McGlohon Theater
November 5 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
November 6 – Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge
November 8 – Dallas, TX @ Texas Theatre
November 9 – Austin, TX @ Levitation
November 10 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
November 12 – Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf
November 13 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
November 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Palace Theatre
November 16 – San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom
November 18 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
November 20 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
November 21 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre