‘Power of Pain’ , the new album from Stateside star Elohim, has won sweeping acclaim across the board and catapulted her to the top of coveted global playlists, reaching new audiences the world over. With performances at major events like Lollapalooza, Coachella and Bonnaroo and more, collaborations with A-listers Skrillex, Big Freedia and Marshmello, and coverage in Rolling Stone, Billboard and The New York Times, Elohim’s star has been in the ascendency for some time. Now as ‘Power In Pain’ connects with more and more listeners, this intriguing artist’s journey looks set to take her to new heights, albeit through unanticipated pathways.
As is so often the case, when an artist allows their creativity to lean into their vulnerability, the end result can be something truly beautiful. For Elohim, a journey that began with hope and ambition ended up descending into anxiety, depression, and a dependency on medical antidepressants. Yet it was here in the depths, faced with her self, that her artistry connected with her truth to forge her best work yet. Raw and unfiltered, ‘Power In Pain’ reflects where the singer/songwriter is right here, right now. Not perfect. Not flawless. Not ‘fixed’. But real. “This album’s true message is… quite frankly not from the place I thought I would be,” she admits, “but from the place where I actually am.”
Elohim’s original plans were for an album created in a much brighter space, the natural jumping off point for a major tour, an opportunity to seize the impetus behind her career trajectory and plant herself firmly in the sphere of top level acts. The crushing anxiety that landed put paid to that but opened up a window that allowed her to shed light on issues often kept in the shadows, a message that connected with huge swathes of listeners. Advance singles ‘Tiny Human’, ‘Didn’t Sign Up For This’ and ‘Can’t Remember Your Name’ secured coveted placements on Apple Music’s ‘New In Dance’ editorial list, Spotify’s ‘Women of Electronic’ list, and Amazon Music’s ‘Brand New Music’ list, as well as creating a media stir with the likes of ThisSongIsSick, Dancing Astronaut, EDM, WeRaveYou, and of course, here at I House U. All three singles were candid takes of different elements of mental health, the production matching up to Elohim’s elequent portrayal of life in the maelstrom of depression, anxiety, brain fog, and societal pressure.
As the album in full drops, the original three tracks prove themselves worthy openers to the rest of the long player: titular track ‘Power of Panic’, ‘Ticking Time Bomb’, ‘Afraid To Fail’, ‘The Call’, ‘Breath’, ‘Crazy’, ‘Uncomfortable’, ‘Earth Angel’. Muted, reverberating basslines push up against ethereal vocals drenched in pathos and rage; shuddering, jittering percussion grind against taut, breakbeat-influenced drops, the production reverberating with uneasy emotion to captures Elohim’s fragile state of mind. There’s a threatening restlessness to the entire piece of work, a pent up disturbance that breaks through from underneath pseudo-calm segues. The album is the definition of the calm before the storm, a fizzing tension that simmers throughout, pushing at the boundaries of each single, a screaming face pressed up against the taut plastic.
For Elohim, this album is an acknowledge of the present while reaching forward for brighter days. “I still can’t help but wonder,” she says, “what this would all be like in a parallel universe where I’ve conquered my struggles, where I’m on stage again performing for thousands. That’s the dream and I promise you I will never give up on that. The reality is so much more complicated, broken, and yet still beautiful. Power of Panic is yours: no stage, no lights, and that has to be enough for now.”
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