Biography
Carla Bozulich distinguishes herself through uncommon vocal and songwriting intensity paired with direct candor, building a reputation on resolute, unyielding output across disparate genres and creative methods. A voice able to deliver either gentle caresses or sudden cuts, matched with lyrics that probe emotions without illusion or softening, has marked her contributions to post-punk via Neon Veins, industrial music through Ethyl Meatplow, reconfigured roots rock with the Geraldine Fibbers—her most widely recognized project, which drew enthusiastic notices for the 1995 album Lost Somewhere Between the Earth and My Home—free improvisation in Scarnella, experimental music under Evangelista, and free jazz with the Nels Cline Singers. Her independent releases have ranged from fractured pop on 2014’s Boy to a distinctive country reading on 2003’s Red Headed Stranger, a track-by-track reworking of Willie Nelson’s 1975 classic that incorporates vocal appearances by Nelson himself. Since entering music in the early 1980s she has also pursued multimedia art and experimental theater, presenting her work on four continents.
Based in Los Angeles, the singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist became a presence in the city’s post-punk community during the 1980s by joining Neon Veins at age 15. Following her decision to abandon drugs and alcohol in her early twenties, she helped establish the industrial dance trio Ethyl Meatplow. The group cultivated a loyal local audience, issued multiple singles, and delivered the 1993 album Happy Days Sweetheart before dissolving later that year.
Once Ethyl Meatplow ended, Bozulich shifted toward somber and unsettling alt-country with the Geraldine Fibbers, an outfit named for an imaginary childhood companion. Their 1995 debut Lost Somewhere Between the Earth and My Home revealed a piercing yet fragile approach that grew more expansive on 1997’s Butch, aided by the arrival of experimental guitarist Nels Cline. Although Butch earned broad praise for its exploratory ambition, it proved the Fibbers’ last new recording; the 1997 collection What Part of “Get Thee Gone” Don’t You Understand? on Sympathy for the Record Industry gathered only demos and EP material. Virgin, the band’s label, pressed instead for a solo Bozulich project, leading to the group’s dissolution under that demand. Collaboration between Bozulich and Cline persisted, however, through Scarnella, whose self-titled 1998 album of experimental, improvisation-driven pieces ventured further into abstraction than Butch and prompted Bozulich to focus more on improvised music. She also began scoring, creating music for the 2002 film By Hook or by Crook and for a staging of Jean Genet’s The Maids.
In 2003 she issued her first solo album, an experimental yet faithful reworking of Willie Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger that enlisted Cline, Devin Hoff, Carla Kihlstedt, Marka Hughes, Jenny Scheinman, and Nelson himself. The release brought near-universal acclaim that carried into the following year’s mini-album I’m Gonna Stop Killing, which extended the same methods through improvisations drawn from Red Headed Stranger plus covers of Neil Young and Marianne Faithfull material. With 2006’s Evangelista, Bozulich moved to Constellation and worked alongside several of the label’s prominent figures, including members of A Silver Mt. Zion and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, as well as Cline and multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily, who also appeared with Bozulich’s more direct rock outfit the Night Porter. Evangelista soon operated as its own ensemble, releasing Hello, Voyager in 2008, Prince of Truth in 2010, and In Animal Tongue in 2011. Additional partnerships included appearances on the Book of Knots’ 2007 album Traineater, Simone Massaron’s 2008 release Dandelions on Fire, Jherek Bischoff’s 2012 set Composed, and Lydia Lunch & Cypress Grove’s 2014 album A Fistful of Desert Blues. Bozulich resumed recording under her own name with 2014’s Boy, which she characterized as her “pop” album because of its more conventional structures. After experiencing temporary hearing loss while touring, she produced an album of ethereal, restrained music issued in 2018 as Quieter.
Based in Los Angeles, the singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist became a presence in the city’s post-punk community during the 1980s by joining Neon Veins at age 15. Following her decision to abandon drugs and alcohol in her early twenties, she helped establish the industrial dance trio Ethyl Meatplow. The group cultivated a loyal local audience, issued multiple singles, and delivered the 1993 album Happy Days Sweetheart before dissolving later that year.
Once Ethyl Meatplow ended, Bozulich shifted toward somber and unsettling alt-country with the Geraldine Fibbers, an outfit named for an imaginary childhood companion. Their 1995 debut Lost Somewhere Between the Earth and My Home revealed a piercing yet fragile approach that grew more expansive on 1997’s Butch, aided by the arrival of experimental guitarist Nels Cline. Although Butch earned broad praise for its exploratory ambition, it proved the Fibbers’ last new recording; the 1997 collection What Part of “Get Thee Gone” Don’t You Understand? on Sympathy for the Record Industry gathered only demos and EP material. Virgin, the band’s label, pressed instead for a solo Bozulich project, leading to the group’s dissolution under that demand. Collaboration between Bozulich and Cline persisted, however, through Scarnella, whose self-titled 1998 album of experimental, improvisation-driven pieces ventured further into abstraction than Butch and prompted Bozulich to focus more on improvised music. She also began scoring, creating music for the 2002 film By Hook or by Crook and for a staging of Jean Genet’s The Maids.
In 2003 she issued her first solo album, an experimental yet faithful reworking of Willie Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger that enlisted Cline, Devin Hoff, Carla Kihlstedt, Marka Hughes, Jenny Scheinman, and Nelson himself. The release brought near-universal acclaim that carried into the following year’s mini-album I’m Gonna Stop Killing, which extended the same methods through improvisations drawn from Red Headed Stranger plus covers of Neil Young and Marianne Faithfull material. With 2006’s Evangelista, Bozulich moved to Constellation and worked alongside several of the label’s prominent figures, including members of A Silver Mt. Zion and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, as well as Cline and multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily, who also appeared with Bozulich’s more direct rock outfit the Night Porter. Evangelista soon operated as its own ensemble, releasing Hello, Voyager in 2008, Prince of Truth in 2010, and In Animal Tongue in 2011. Additional partnerships included appearances on the Book of Knots’ 2007 album Traineater, Simone Massaron’s 2008 release Dandelions on Fire, Jherek Bischoff’s 2012 set Composed, and Lydia Lunch & Cypress Grove’s 2014 album A Fistful of Desert Blues. Bozulich resumed recording under her own name with 2014’s Boy, which she characterized as her “pop” album because of its more conventional structures. After experiencing temporary hearing loss while touring, she produced an album of ethereal, restrained music issued in 2018 as Quieter.
Albums
Singles
