Elsa Lester is the moniker of Amsterdam resident Lisa van Kampen, who formerly recorded under the guise of Great Profile. Van Kampen has been making DIY indie rock since 2016, recorded on a trusty MacBook in her bedroom. Her latest EP, Dinner Party, is the strongest Elsa Lester release to date, and has just been released on cassette via Z Tapes.
The EP opens with ‘Pretty Bad, Man’, which serves as a great introduction—an indie rock song with some sunny pop thrown in for good measure. Lyrically, the track exists in that space after a breakup, and although our narrator seems to be doing well (“My skin is cleared and I am cured / I’m getting ten hours of sleep at night”), there’s still a lingering sense of yearning.
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‘Say No’ is equally fun, despite its talk of faked suicides and graveside flowers, while ‘The Princess and the Queen’ offers a twist on the lovesick pop trope. ‘Clueless Vibes’ is tinged with disappointment, a lean indie pop song where van Kampen’s lines are laced with previous hurt, before finale ‘Somewhere’ looks back on a tumultuous relationship and forward to a better future.
“Somewhere
It’s better
Somewhere”
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You can get Dinner Party on cassette via Z Tapes or a name your price download from the Elsa Lester Bandcamp page.
