Following the cancellation of the release of Utopia as her second studio album instead of an EP, Kerli left Island Records and joined Ultra Music, in which she released some songs as a featured artist. Kerli eventually left Ultra and decided to become an independent artist. During this time she released her third EP Deepest Roots. This EP was released only as limited signed CDs as she wanted to please the fans who had pledged for the project after its delay. Deepest Roots featured all the singles released so far from the project as well as remixes, audio commentaries and the instrumental track Journey Through the Elven Kingdom. The original version of the album was intended to be released around 2016-2017, but this version ended up being scrapped. In 2018 she joined the label Seeking Blue, which ended up publishing the album. Kerli considers Shadow Works as her third studio album, as she also still considers Utopia as the second.
Composition
Shadow Works is a relative return to Kerli's first album Love Is Dead and her EP Kerli, which has a gothic sound deeply rock-inspired sound, however, the album features more electronic sounds, akin to her EP's Utopia and Deepest Roots. Kerli described the album as “an exploration of own shadow, it’s a collection of music designed to connect the listener to their own disowned parts and to honor their hidden self. I explore the feelings of victim-hood, co-dependence, lust, guilt and defeat. There are also frequencies that symbolize the eventual triumph over darkness. The vocal scapes that start, part and end the collection are designed to bring the listener into a meditative state so that Shadow Work can be performed.”
Singles and promotion
The first single "Savages" was released on 30 November 2018 along the announcement and cover of the album. It reached the fourth position as one of the most successful songs of 2018 by Estonian artists on Raadio 2. The song's music video was released on Kerli's YouTube channel on 21 March 2019. The second single "Better" was released on 18 January 2019 and the third and final before the album's release, "Legends", on 8 February 2019. The day before its official released, the album was premiered via livestream on YouTube channel MrSuicideSheep.
Track listing
Credits taken from Spotify. Executive Producer: Cyrus Saidi A&R: Cyrus Saidi
