LESTER THE FIERCE – THE SUMMER DELUGE EP

Singer-songwriter Anita Lester has been a force on the Melbourne music scene for some time, involving herself in various ambitious projects- the most renowned being the staging of an orchestral concert of Radiohead covers at an abandoned prison. Her main focus now though is Lester The Fierce and The Summer Deluge is an EP of emotive folk music that’s edgy but crafted with both fragile and powerful moments. Opening track The Hunter sets the scene of the EP and the immediate thing one notices is the pristine instrumentation and how delicate and haunting Lester’s voice is. Her voice seems as delicate as glass yet it soars beautifully above the accompaniment. November has a twinkling piano introduction which accompanies her voice before the song is lifted by a driving rhythm section only to then shrink away once again to leave her voice to see out the song. The debut single from the EP Holland has a more urgent feel and while the push and pull of the drums sets the pace, guitar feedback is cleverly used as soundscapes to set the mood. It will be interesting to see what sort of depth in songwriting Lester has when she eventually releases a long player but based on this EP commercial success is surely on the horizon.

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