Estelle Mey- The Key

Estelle Mey- The Key

Estelle Mey’s new album, The Key, is an absolutely arresting presentation of one of the most skilled and powerful vocalists that this reviewer has heard in a very long time.

A French native, Mey is a singer-songwriter with an obviously diverse set of influences, as her own music features a variety of different sounds, styles and textures. For instance, The Key’s title track opens with a strummed dulcimer before giving way to an atmospheric, electro-rock arrangement set to a near-Celtic like stomp while other tracks feature pulsing, industrial rhythms, slide guitar and beds of metallic distortions (which brings to mind the likes of Queens of the Stone Age, Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails).

While the arrangements are richly complex and the poetic lyrics are expertly penned as well, it’s Mey’s powerhouse vocals that really steal the show here. From sharp, crystalline tones on tracks like “Meteors” to fiery yet tuneful wails on tracks like “Waiting,” Mey displays a wide vocal range that is consistently soaked in visceral passion. Mey’s impressive and unique voice is a welcomed and immediate standout in this world of tired, auto-tuned redundancies.

What’s also very exciting about Mey’s music is that it seems that this is only her first full album proper, so armed with her extremely varied and potent voice and her expressive songwriting skills, it really staggers the imagination to think of where she can go from here.

You can purchase The Key digitally via Mey’s Bandcamp account and you can also check her out on Spotify and iTunes. If you’re in France or the UK, you might even get a chance to catch her on her current tour (dates below).