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Sep 05, 2019 By Christopher Roberts Chelsea Wolfe

Chelsea Wolfe is releasing a new album, The Birth of Violence, on September 13 via Sargent House. Now she has shared another song from the album, “Deranged for Rock & Roll,” via a video for the track. Gilbert Trejo directed the video, which takes place in a small desert town. Watch it below, followed by Wolfe’s upcoming tour dates.

Wolfe had this to say about the song and video in a press release: “‘Deranged for Rock & Roll’ is my love song to music. Every time I ever tried to walk a different path, music always called me back home to it. It’s in my blood; it’s my one source of true peace. I love its chaos and its rough edges, and I love the way it can bring understanding and comfort. I belong to music, and it to me. I feel Gilbert’s video illustrates that unnamed pull towards something so well. My character is destined to sing the same song over and over in this purgatory of a desert bar, while different people come through the town and begin to feel the pull as well, drawing them into this vortex to stay for good.”

Director Trejo (Pixies, DIIV) had this to say: “From the beginning we knew this video took place outside of society. The melody invokes compulsion, a certain type of purgatory, the inability to just buckle down and fly the straight path. Everyone’s purgatory exists side by side, and we affect one another without ever knowing.”

Previously Wolfe shared The Birth of Violence‘s first single, “The Mother Road” (which was one of our Songs of the Week). Then she shared another song from the album, “American Darkness,” via an atmospheric black & white video. Then she shared “Be All Things,” via a video for the track that was partially shot inside Northern California’s Moaning Cavern, 450 feet underground, and partially in Iceland. “Be All Things” was also one of our Songs of the Week.

The Birth of Violence is the follow-up to 2017’s Hiss Spun. It was recorded with longtime musical collaborator Ben Chisholm and features Jess Gowrie (drums) and Ezra Buchla (viola).

Wolfe had this to say about the album in a previous press release: “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. 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.”

The previous press release described the album as such: “Birth of Violence touches upon tradition, but it also exists in the present, addressing modern tragedies such as school shootings and the poisoning of the planet. But the record is at its most poignant when Wolfe withdraws into her own world of enigmatic and elusive autobiography. The songs describe an internal awakening of feminine energy, a connection to the maternal spirit of the Earth, and a defiant stance against the destructive and controlling forces of a greedy and hostile patriarchy. Though the lyrical minutiae remain secret, the overall power of the language and delivery is bound to haunt the listener with both its grace and tension. In keeping with the general approach of the album, it thrives by culling from the familiar language of American country and folk music while setting it within longtime musical collaborator Ben Chisholm’s scenic soundscapes.”

The previous press release added: “While it’s tempting to draw a comparison to Wolfe’s acoustic collection Unknown Rooms, Birth of Violence is a far cry from the unplugged nature of that album. Instead, it feels like an exploration of one of Wolfe’s strongest facets-her ties to the American singer/songwriter tradition.”

Read our 2015 The End interview with Wolfe about endings and death.

Chelsea Wolfe Acoustic Tour Dates:

10/18: San Diego, CA - Observatory North Park
10/19: Phoenix, AZ - Crescent Ballroom
10/21: Salt Lake City, UT - Metro Music Hall
10/22: Estes Park, CO - Stanley Hotel
10/24: Chicago, IL - Metro
10/25: Detroit, MI - Senate Theater
10/26: Toronto, ONT - Queen Elizabeth Theatre
10/27: Montreal, QC - Le National
10/29: Boston, MA - Royale
10/31: Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
11/01: New York, NY - Brooklyn Steel
11/03: Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
11/04: Charlotte, NC - McGlohon Theater
11/05: Atlanta, GA - Terminal West
11/06: Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge
11/08: Dallas, TX - Texas Theatre
11/09: Austin, TX - Levitation
11/10: Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall
11/12: Santa Fe, NM - Meow Wolf
11/13: Tucson, AZ - Club Congress
11/15: Los Angeles, CA - The Palace Theatre
11/16: San Francisco, CA - Regency Ballroom
11/18: Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
11/20: Seattle, WA - The Showbox
11/21: Vancouver, BC - Vogue Theatre

* All dates with special guest Ioanna Gika

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