With each venue stacked and crammed throughout Austin on this heated Friday night, we know the one and only place to be. That friends, is at our preferred venue, Mohawk, to see the likes of a talented goth-folk queen in the flesh – Miss Chelsea Wolfe.

The L.A. singer-songstress embodies the heart of atmospheric wasteland folk as she pushes her voice through necessary-to-her-sound reverb, which has earned her widespread attention.

We like Wolfe. Her ambitious lyricism and often-ominous drone melodies build and scatter into neo-folk balladry. She is a lovely sort of Witch – a challenging combination of high art and gothic signifiers. She is a woman who uses her growls and gurgles like a possessed lover, like a lady caught in mystery.

While she has opened for peculiar but brilliant bands like Boris and Swans, this evening the night was hers, with Dallas natives True Window opening the show, but leaving great space for Wolfe to control.

Wolfe strides into view, markedly slender, her face covered by a mop of hair.  She is hypnotic at times; playing standout tracks “We Hit A Wall” and “Kings” from this year’s release Pain is Beauty.

Mid way through the set Wolfe steps forward and the crowd waits. She has built an energy of greatness. You can sense the anticipation working its way throughout the bodies occupying the crammed floor in front the outdoor stage.

Wolfe’s next step is largely hypnotic. Suddenly, a profound charisma emerges, one that is blatantly set by the pace of “Flatlands.” The track that bellows, “ I don’t want precious stones // I never cared about anything you’ve ever owned // I want flatlands, I want simplicity // I need your arms wrapped hard around me.” To see her is to believe her – the very simple construction of the track is undeniably successful. She delivers her words like poison. So obviously captivating she knows her craft like her witches brew, feeding off the raw violin interludes and executing each harmony as if under a spell.

Or perhaps we were the casted; bewitched by the meandering intensity of what is Chelsea Wolfe.

As “Pale on Pale” makes its way into our ears she has found her center of gravity – this ethereal quality that makes her unparalleled on stage. As the evening closes she has us stretching forward on our toes, unconsciously reaching to her lips to take one last piece of focused attention. 

Live Photo By Jimmy Gustafsson