ESTERE – ALBUM REVIEW

Estère – Archetypes (Blue Riot Records) 

Release Date: Out Now

It’s rare that I jump in to the world of a new artist with their album, I usually like to test the water with a single or two, maybe an EP, but this was too good an opportunity to pass up. Wellington’s Estère presents ‘Archetypes’ with minimal fanfare but the attached PR blurb talks about her grandmother, cheetahs and Carl Jung which is enough to get anyone’s attention tweaked. The album opens with ‘Into the Belly of Capricorn’, a tune which mixes soulful vocals with a magical vibe that has something of Kimbra about it and you are instantly transports you to another world completely of Estère’s making. ‘Pelican’ follows on with a more rootsy vibe as the guitar notes waft across the swamp to enchant you as the sun goes down and the clapped percussion dances like fireflies on the shoreline. It is an incredibly strong opening brace of songs.

On ‘Mad About Your Sea’ the vocals bring to mind Laura Mvula such is the dusky soulfulness while ‘Pomegranate’ dances like a folky solstice party in a magical glade somewhere with the kind of energy you’d expect from Laura Marling or Mae Karthauser. The funk is most certainly brought to town on ‘The Climate in Your Skull’ which reminds me why I love Ben Harper so much before ‘Animal Pleasure’ picks up the tightly strung riff and throws in a little deep south mysticism to create the kind of tune that will have you in a trance.

What I love most about Estère is her ability to skirt around the edge of a variety of genres without sacrificing her unique voice or style and ‘Calculated Risk’ is a great example of this as it touches on blues, soul, alt-pop and Motown without missing a beat. ‘Night Crow’ is a more late night vibe with vocal harmonies that stick as close as a witches coven chanting around a bubbling cauldron and then Estère continues the fairy-tale theme on ‘Red Riding Hood’ which pitches itself somewhere between Florence + the Machine and Kate Bush with aplomb.

The penultimate tune on this collection is ‘Nemesis’ jumps into an electro world which is unexpected but very welcome as we find ourselves in a Janelle Monae meets Goldfrapp setting that does strange things to your hips. Closing out on ‘Won’t Shy Away’, Estère treats us to a dusky soulful tune with violin notes strewn throughout it and that stunning voice front and centre. This is certainly an early contender for album of the year and Estère is definitely one of my favourite new finds of 2021 so come and get involved.

More information: https://www.facebook.com/EstereLola