A few years back I went to see Lindi Ortega play live in Glasgow, hoping to write a review of the show. I loved all her previous albums, especially the last one Liberty, and was looking forward to seeing her talent on stage. 

Unfortunately a few songs into the show I realised something was off. At first it seemed like an issue with the sound mix, Lindi’s vocals being too high or perhaps she couldn’t hear herself sing. When she played acoustic or quieter songs her voice was perfect, beautiful. At other times, she sounded strained, a little out of time and tune. I felt unable to write any kind of review of the show, considering how much she was struggling. 

The issue, it turned out, wasn’t confined to that one evening. Later she admitted to having issues with her in-ear monitors, which caused her to overcompensate and damage her voice. Soon she was terrified to play live and quit music altogether for four years.

But then after dealing with some difficult personal circumstances, she began writing songs again. With so much new music to share, she worked with vocal coaches to regain her confidence performing live.  

The result of this work is ‘From the Ether’, an album of haunting, unusual songs on a ghostly theme. Somewhat surprisingly considering her issues, there’s a stripped back, sparse sound to the record. Her vocals are given time to breathe, to work their quiet magic again without the crushing sound of a full band.