Album Review: E^ST - I'm Doing It

There’s a reason art made by auteurs often outshines groupthink creativity. One guiding hand. One brain. One set of skills. One vision. With a number of notable collabs already behind her in her short bright career, E^ST is nonetheless a singular performer. As we are reminded with this record: we are in safe hands with her.

Opener Fit For Company is a good morning of a track; a gentle, autumnal dawn. Things really get cracking with Flight Path’s punchy piano riff. As pieces are added the truth is confirmed: E^ST remains the queen of melancholy bangers. Found Somebody continues the pop music heartbreak; a Robyn-like combination of insight and danceability. Fresh Out Of Love continues the approachable solemnity. It is on Walking Home In The Rain where the mood switches. As introspective and melodramatic as its title suggests, the track is nonetheless uplifting and optimistic. A welcome pivot from the pessimism that precedes it.

“Wunderkind” can be a curse as much as a blessing. If an artist is pretty good by their late teens - as E^ST was - there’s an expectation that by their early 20s they should be near their peak. Anything less would be a disappointment. Here, with E^ST’s debut album, we hold that most delicious of cultural products: potential realised. Treasure this.