Anita Lester’s sound is larger than life. Described as cinematic and mournfully soulful, the Australian via UK singer songwriter is fast becoming a name to know.
Today’s release Last Day is carried in ebbs and flows of sparse piano, building into a crashing final chorus. The track is a narrative of grief and loss, fleshed out with heartfelt memories; no doubt navigating deeply personal experiences.
The accompanying clip is as haunting, clear and engaging as Lester’s vocals, the perfect visual sibling to her impassioned sonic narrative.
An audience aches under the weight of Anita Lester’s sorrow, only to be brought back to full strength by the catharsis and subsequent optimism that the purge of emotion in Last Day instigates.
Recalling a similar sound to that of Birdy or a stripped back Vera Blue, Lester toes a line between haunting and uplifting. Not an easy path, but one which she manages to make her own. For the full length of the clip you are hooked into Lester’s story, that of letting go and placing the memories of great loves on the bookshelf.
Having released several music videos up to this point, Lester’s aesthetic speaks volumes of her sound. Reflective and bold, each clip gives a nod to nature. Lester has no fear of placing her songs in a sphere of the dramatic, her powerful music sitting soundly above.
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Last Day is a beautiful release from a global artist, but one who has retained her distinctively Australian tone, marrying simple instrumental with complex lyricism and themes. An export to be celebrated, Anita Lester is bringing intimate and poetic sound to the forefront without losing sight of her contemporary influences.
Currently moving between the UK and Australia, it’s hard to pin down the overwhelmingly talented artist, with a number of shows in Melbourne last year, we can only hope she graces the homeland sometime soon.
