Pain is Beauty, the third full-length studio album from the Los Angeles, CA-based singer/songwriter Chelsea Wolfe was release to critical acclaim back in September. The material on the album is a decided change of sonic direction for Wolfe, as it takes on a more electronic-based sound – primarily through the use of delay pedals, looping and other effects. 

La Blogotheque recently invited Wolfe for their “Take Away Show” series. And in Wolfe’s sessions she performs stripped down and extremely intimate versions of “Lone” and “House of Metal” off the album in a stairway with some of the most beautiful acoustics I’ve probably heard – it kind of reminds me how of gorgeous cello and violin sound rebounding off the ceilings and walls of Bethesda Terrace in Central Park. In any case, with just Wolfe’s vocals and her guitar, you can’t help but notice that on the middle and higher registers Wolfe is absolutely haunting – and siren-like. In her lower register, as you’ll hear on “House of Metal” her voice and phrasing bears a similarity to PJ Harvey.