After a long period of time providing ever-more haunting vocals for her band Trespassers William, and her exquisite debut solo record, China Mountain from a couple of years back, and while we wait for the debut record of her new project with Robert Gomez, Oromonde, which follows later this year, Anna-Lynne has released Stolen.
Stolen is a covers record. This is a brave move at the best of times. The majority of covers albums don't really work. Here is one, however, which does.
The songs here come from a variety of sources. Beginning with a haunting cover of Damien Jurado's "The Falling Snow" and taking in songs by artists as diverse as Bon Iver, Hayden, The National and Interpol among others, the sense emerges, of a unified, cohesive album, full of songs which sound like they were written for Lotte Kestner to sing them. This is not a disparate collection of random covers, this is a journey into the heartbeat of an artist and poet, who wrests every ounce of fragile emotion possible form each song she touches.
Building on the successful blueprint of China Mountain, this record is awash with delicate acoustic flourishes, delectable vocal harmonies, and occasional interjections from keys and synths which take Lotte Kestner's sound in a slightly fuller direction, without ever distracting from the central instrument: that once-in-a-lifetime voice.
Self-released on her own Saint-Loop Records, this is one album not to miss. Lotte Kestner is an artist worthy of our ears, our hearts, and our support.
