The Coil Of Sihn was formed in St. Louis, Missouri in 2000 by trans-feminine artist Sihn Starr Cartia. Out of Cartia's handwritten journals came the concept that backdrops the music.
Sid Andruska of Playback magazine also had this to say:
"My World...is an angry yet sentimental beast, exploding with emotion and memory. Tales of despair play out like a novel with a total of 22 songs. Here, Cartia’s vocals are more pronounced and guttural. Mirroring the vocal range of Goth legends, Fields of the Nephilim, Cartia’s voice detonates above a bed of synthesized beats, overshadowing voice clips, the background chorus, and all else that gets in her way."
"If you love the lowly crooning of the late Ian Curtis from Joy Division, you’ll enjoy COS; Cartia’s vocals are a dead-on match, especially in “Dream (Not a Monster remix),” although she doesn’t showcase her voice on all songs. Occasionally, she allows the music to speak for itself. In “HalfLife (30 Giger Clicks remix),” her vocals become faint, like a subliminal message or tiny ghost. Raw and compelling, the entire album leaves you wanting more, much like foreplay with no sex. Oh, the glorious torture!"
After extensive regional touring, The Coil Of Sihn went back into the studio and released "These Closed Eyes" in 2009. This was the first time that Cartia worked with an sound engineer, Justin Fisher of SmithLee Studios in St. Louis and the local band Glitch Factor. The collaboration resulted in a theatrical based concept album based upon Cartia's abusive childhood.
Mark Kray of Pitchfork had this to say:
"The first track, "First Curse" is a horrid dramatization of a brutal physical and sexual attack that recounts one of Cartia's childhood memories; the second track Cartia unveils her lyrical genius. Her creative reign over the entire album induces some extraordinary highs and lows, like riding the wave of a wild acid trip."
Sid Andruska of Playback also had this to say:
"COS’s sound, although unique by today’s standards, conjures fond recollections of early Ministry and KMFDM with hints of Nine Inch Nails throughout. The pulsating groove of synthesizer beats, blended with a cornucopia of voice clips from various movies, relay Cartia’s story, as if her life were a dramatic motion picture or a horror flick, depending on your perspective."
And what does the future hold? Cartia has several singles in the works for the 25th anniversary of COS in 2025. After that, a three part, album triptych of new music titled “The Fall”, which she intends to release with Grimalkin Records, a QTBIPOC, Trans/Queer, Disabled lead mutual aid project from Richmond, VA whose mission is to support, release and archive art and music created by all Trans and Queer artists and performers.
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