Lotte Kestner
The Bluebird of Happiness


3.5
great

Review

by carouse USER (44 Reviews)
January 31st, 2013 | 12 replies


Release Date: 2013 | Tracklist

Review Summary: everything she touches turns beautiful

When a relatively unknown name strikes out on their own apart from their bandmates, the stage is set for what usually ends up as a more experimental shift. Understandably, the solo album is a template for the creative juices that couldn’t fit within the frames of the band’s construct. Personal interests and tendencies seep in, and you’re left with a clearer picture of the artist by themselves, unobstructed apart from compromise or settling. This is what makes Anne-Lynne Williams’s [stagename: Lotte Kestner] solo efforts so intriguing, as they fit none of the aforementioned characterizations. Don’t fret- they still ooze the same creativity and raw talent as her band, Trespassers William. Each one is similar in mood, and The Bluebird of Happiness is yet another testament to Kestner’s solo prowess apart from Trespassers William. The band’s signature album, Different Stars, is a purple-y, swirling romantic mess of shoegaze and lovelorn crooning. It dips in and out of hazy guitar swells that blanket and muffle Lotte’s vocals. On her solo efforts -and this one in particular- the reverb-laden guitars are traded for pianos and acoustics that allow for her voice to steal the spotlight. Songs like “Paris” showcase just how beautiful her whispery voice is when given its due presence at center stage. Somber and lamentful, The Bluebird of Happiness doesn’t deviate much from previous records like China Mountain.

Again, intimacy is one of the main draws, here. The entirety feels like Williams is blanketing the listener with her personal lamentations, and she feels so very close. This is due to the bare production and lack of layering. The minimalism is apt, and is the chief variation from equally-beautiful voices of her peers and Trespassers William alike. I would go as far to argue that Lotte Kesner’s defining moments of her solo catalogue comes from this album, in the form of her cover of Beyonce’s “Halo.” What could have easily come off as cheap and intrusive instead highlights Williams’s knack for communicating the same level of sentimentalism and authenticity through her own subtlety as Beyonce does by stretching her voice to such limits. And further, it feels utterly in place. Always, Kestner’s composition and track placement feels purposeful and restrained. The melancholy and homogeny might meld together into what some feel is too dismal and same-y, but those listeners will be missing out on an ever-consistent musician displaying how everything she touches turns beautiful, no matter what name it’s released under.



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user ratings (20)
3.7
great


Comments:Add a Comment 
carouse
January 31st 2013


358 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

It's minimalist folk music and the girl has a very striking voice, there are few good reasons not to be into it. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy it.

TheNexus100
January 31st 2013


2696 Comments


this is anna lynne from trespassers bet this rules

TheNexus100
January 31st 2013


2696 Comments


sarcasm ftw?

carouse
February 5th 2013


358 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Anyone else listen to this?

GiaNXGX
February 6th 2013


5477 Comments


I haven't but will sure do after reading this fascinating write-up.

robin
February 14th 2013


4595 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

hey man i dunno if you saw this but



http://www.facebook.com/lottekestner/posts/473378142718638

theacademy
Emeritus
February 15th 2013


31865 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

damn i wanna jam this hard maybe even the hardest

carouse
February 18th 2013


358 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Wow, thanks for the heads up pianotuna, that's very cool.

DBlitz
February 26th 2013


1693 Comments


so this is finally out, and i'm really liking it. great review too, it's well written and i agree with pretty much all of it.

i didn't enjoy china mountain as much as i wanted too, i think i'm liking this a lot more because of the production or something? it doesn't sound as cold to me, just more intimate. does sound somewhat tiring and samey, but i don't mind listening to her voice for 47 minutes.

Nikkolae
April 8th 2014


6781 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

oh my jesus how did i missed this, dl'ing right now



edit: yes this is wonderful, i love Little Things so much

Dewinged
Staff Reviewer
January 17th 2017


32225 Comments


Oh man, loving her voice.

Trifolium
March 17th 2022


40141 Comments


New one a month ago. It's nice!

(5 year bump)



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