Nashville-based singer-songwriter and producer Tanatswa Estina. spent the past few years fronting the band Estina. & The Black Sheep, though has recently decided to set out alone. This month sees the release of her debut solo EP I will stay for myself, a collection of songs which delves into themes of mental health and self-worth via Estina’s poetic yet energetic style. Pop, alt-rock and post-punk are all touchstones, though the sound is purposeful in its genre blending. Directing all of its energies toward better elucidating the emotions underpinning the songs.
The release’s first single ‘Sadder Than I Thought.’ captured the tone of the Tanatswa Estina.’s work. A track at once vibrant and reflective which explored feelings of burnout and dissatisfaction within an otherwise productive life. “I had accomplished a lot professionally; but I was burnt out, let down by people I looked up to, and I couldn’t get out of bed,” she told Music Mecca. “I didn’t realize just how much I depended on what I accomplished, and how other people treated me to validate my life. I thought I was just tired; but I was sadder than I thought.”
Today we have the pleasure of sharing the EP’s second single, ‘Invalidate the Intrusive Thoughts’. An ode to coping mechanisms and all their conflicted implications, able to make a day bearable but also accumulate into something as stifling and damaging as the very things they are supposed to alleviate. “Set him on fire / Breathe deeply,” Tanatswa Estina. sings, “How did something so simple / Become so consuming // Lights up my mind, at least for while.” But there’s self-deception built into such things, and the song confronts this head on too.
What was the trigger?
I fell apart again
Betray my health for
My favorite lie
I will stay for myself. is out on the 21st October and you can find Tanatswa Estina. at all the usual places.
