Lotte Kestner China Mountain(2008)[FLAC]

01. Crush The Bird (4:22)
02. Compasses (4:23)
03. Fainting Spells (5:28)
04. Leif Erikson (5:03)
05. Fineline (1:25)
06. Temperature (4:17)
07. Face Shape (4:17)
08. Cattleya (3:37)
09. Before You Are (5:53)
10. Lula Boat (3:46)
11. Fainted Twice (4:41)
I missed this album the first time around (2008). Timing is a funny thing, for as much time as there actually is, it has an uncanny knack for being extremely precise. Had I come across this album two years ago, there’s a fair chance it wouldn’t have resonated as much as it does now; so, I use the word ‘missed’ quite on purpose as it seems the re-release of China Mountain was timed to show exactly what my Australian winter has been lacking.

Lotte Kestner, the solo project of Anna-Lynne Williams, delivers a down-tempo folk album that is both reminiscent of her work as singer-songwriter with Trespassers William, and distinct enough so as not to be derivative. Anna-Lynne’s moderately hushed and dreamy vocals also give some welcome warmth and depth to the delicate, gently moving songs. Much like Mazzy Star-era Hope Sandoval, the emotion is largely in the words themselves, and they unravel in a similarly haunting fashion.