- Bryon Harris
Estella Dawn - "Pretty"
Review by Daniel Deprè
“Pretty” is an inspiring and uplifting rock ballad. Filled with hopeful lyrics and a genuine sense of love. Estella aims to inspire you to love yourself and she succeeds with flying colors here. The chorus sections are powerful, you can practically feel yourself being released from any negativity that is pervasive in your life. Furthering “Pretty’s” enticing nature is its subtle but strong sense of groove. It’s the kind of song that will make you emotional while also making you want to dance.
Lyrically, Estella is singing about true beauty, which is being comfortable and confident with your own body. She is taking a really deep look at how tough it is to love ourselves, especially in our modern world with social media. Her lyrics are very relatable and imaginative.
“Stuck some wings on with sellotape, won’t be long before they break, self-sabotage is what I do.”
Her lyrics also bring to light an interesting observation which is how we always depend on other people to make us feel attractive when really, we should be confident with who we are on our own.
“You know I’ve never been very good at, building myself up as I should have, so here I am at your door, you call me pretty, falling from your lips, I can’t get enough of it.”
The instrumentation of “Pretty” is incredibly bright and boisterous, kicking things off with an active and complex piano part that almost sounds like an arpeggiator. Piano, Drums, and vocals are the commanding elements and it’s amazing how well these 3 sounds fill up the whole stereo field. Estella Dawn’s vocals are silky smooth, and they are truly powerful. The vocals are even more impactful with the addition of background vocals, creating an almost gospel-like sound. The drums provide an essential sense of groove, giving the song an addictive sway. “Pretty” will pick you back up from a dark time and it’ll be stuck in your head already after one listens through.
About Estella Dawn
Estella, New Zealand born, US based songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist and producer. As a working musician, she writes and records her vocals and piano as well as co-producing all aspects of her music. Estella sings with the melodic command, subtlety and range that spans genres. She's been compared to the likes of, Adele, Billie Eilish, Pink and Hayley Williams to name a few. These well crafted songs contain multiple layers, both vocally and musically, subtle and soothing when needed and sharp and gritty when desired.
Estella Dawn has something to say, and she does it through music. Her songs are often personal and social explorations of life. 2020 saw her refine her skills to develop and define her own style, as well as navigate the overall business of music. It was a prolific year for Estella, she released 10 tracks, a new single every 6 weeks, building a steadily growing following that are resonating with her intimate, been there, done that, outlook on life. With this growth, there have been many highs, her song "I Dare You" charted on the media base Radio Top 40 chart, she's been interviewed by and had songs added to many radio stations, her songs have also been included on some big Spotify playlists and she's had many wonderful reviews by global music bloggers.
Building on this work, 2021 began strong with Estella's first single 'Petty', then 'Trolls' followed by her most recent single 'Pretty'. Estella heads into the studio in September to record and produce her first full length album with a band, keep an eye on Estella Dawn she clearly has a deep creative well to draw from.
For more information on Estella Dawn, please visit her website.
Stream on Spotify