Zola Jesus' music, amidst its more thorny elements, has always possessed a hint of gothic grandeur. So it seems natural that she is preparing to release an album consisting of orchestral reworkings of previous recordings. Seriously, what is more goth than a full orchestra behind your dramatic vocals? Well, I suppose having that orchestra performing at a graveyard but  you can't have your wilting flowers and eat them too goths! One, that would be weird, two, the metaphor makes no sense, and three, you just can't have everything goths. What a bunch of greedy gloom and doomers amirite?!  (Please note that I am in no way saying any of this is true of the Goth subculture, who has a long and respectable history that I in no way wish to denigrate. I am just a very unfunny man who wishes he was and tries too hard).

Versions, set to be released Tuesday (August 20) features JG Thirlwell's (known for scoring Venture Brothers) arrangements of Zola Jesus' songs backed by a full orchestra. "Fall Back," the only new song, is a hopeful sign of things to come should Jesus continue in this direction (Zola Jesus, not the other guy, I don't want to offend Goths and Christians at the same time. That would be kind of interesting though). It features swirling, lush instrumentation and Jesus' voice at its finest. It is hopefully the start of an exciting new chapter in her already impressive career. And once again, sorry to the Goths, Christians, the writers of the television show My Two Dads (they know) and the estate of John Steinbeck.