Zola Jesus' 6 favorite songs that inspired her new album, Taiga

It's an eclectic bunch — from Beyoncé to Gustav Mahler

Zola Jesus

Nika Roza Danilova initially decided to perform under the moniker Zola Jesus because, in the singer's words, she wanted to "consciously alienate" her peers. "It worked perfectly," she said in a Q Magazine interview. In her northern Wisconsin hometown, "a lot of people wouldn't even say Zola Jesus because they thought it was sacrilegious."

Though her name may still be verboten to some, five years and five albums later, the songwriter and classically trained opera singer's brand of dark, industrial pop has become more accessible than ever. Indeed, critics are already lauding her fifth album, Taiga (out today), as her most pop-forward record yet. Where floods of reverb and clattering, metallic noise on previous albums threatened to swallow Danilova's voice completely, her deep, powerful voice now easily beats back everything from horns to synthesizers.

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Samantha Rollins

Samantha Rollins is TheWeek.com's news editor. She has previously worked for The New York Times and TIME and is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.