Single Review: Esbie Fonte - 'Ace's High'

LA-based alternative artist Esbie Fonte shares raw and despondent single 'Ace's High'. 

'Aces High' is thick with monotony, it's in Esbie Fonte's unique vocal, in the lyrics and even her  affecting arrangements often sound tired and pushed to breaking point. It's a combination that is oddly mesmerizing and Fonte's remarkable voice has her listener hanging on every exhausted word and hypnotic beat.

"Ace’s High is about being in the real world for the first time, making hard compromises in order to survive as a musician, seeing people fall apart, and being let down by people who matter to you."

There's a wonderful progression to the song, it's arrangements  both dark and light, juggle nuances of melodic optimism paired against dark frustration. There's a noteworthy instrumental in the latter half of the song, depicting a turning point in the track's theme, the tone and the production, which is hugely moving and intimate.

Overall, 'Ace's High' is a captivating blend of  melancholia, seeing Fonte draw her listener into a bleak world of defeatism and angst, drawing from an unassuming authenticity that really does resonate.

Words of Karla Harris