A new era has come upon us and this time around, Nadine Lustre scales things back with the aching and tender telling in her new release, Wait For Me.
Nadine Lustre will always keep us guessing, that’s just a fact. If there’s one thing to expect from the artist who has explored and veritably proven her merits and mettle in film, television, music, and creative direction, it is that she will always choose the path that is unpredictable. Not for mere irony or for the sheer heck of it, she unconsciously steers clear of what is tired and typical, because as an artist, there is that insatiable desire for her to explore possibilities, carve out clarity, and test the limits. Proving to be wise on her end, the risks have been paying off, especially in the past few years of her eagle-eyed focus on music.
“I feel like people know me for being honest, being authentic, but music just solidified the whole thing. Here, I am able to express things that I can’t through all the other mediums and creative exhausts,” says Nadine Lustre of what makes music central to her being. “With music kasi, it’s different, because it’s words. It is just recently that I learned na kaya ko pala with words. I guess it’s just another extension of myself, another way of expressing more of my truth.”
And following a full revolution around the sun since the birth of her highly successful and well-received opus, Wildest Dreams, she scales the spectacle back and gets real with emotional excess. Where Wildest Dreams was a paradigm shift, entangling itself in the strings of mystery, dreams, and surrealism, all of which were manifested both sonically and visually, the newly released track of Nadine Lustre, Wait For Me, is that decidedly conscious and considered. You know, just like that moment in a lucid dream where one finally chooses to inhabit the realm of reality.
Wait For Me
“You can’t drink away a memory / And a touch won’t wash away / What’s meant to be will always be / Leave a crack in the door just in case,” and so sings Nadine Lustre in Wait For Me, an aching, tender musical exposition that grips at the heart with its stripped down orchestrations. Taking a step back and letting all the emotions and experiences settle like sediments once in a suspended state, the singer revels in the introspective and insular lyrics, which offer a great deal of wisdom. While this isn’t something she wrote herself, the words of Wait For Me definitely resonated with Nadine Lustre, which is why together with LA-based producer, Sweater Beats, she decided to breathe life into it, much like how she embodies a character right off the pages of a film script. Needless to say, it become her.
As if enclosed in a chamber, Nadine Lustre gets lost in the soul of the song, Wait For Me. Echoing in the space she now finds herself in, this is more than a culmination of her musical breakthrough. Here, at least as realized by the song, she learns the art of letting go, baring her heart as she finds comfort in her emotions. “Before it all goes up in smoke / Love me hard and let me go,” she punctuates.”
In the visceral narrative of Wildest Dreams, Nadine Lustre was already a musical revelation, but in Wait For Me, she takes full command of her voice, searing through with just the necessary instrumentation. This makes it even more haunting, much like a thought that takes root in the odd hours of the morning. Alone in her thoughts and song, Nadine Lustre shows admirable humanity and strength, powering through the ballad that is not necessarily big and booming, but nonetheless anthemic to people going through the emotional process of heartbreak. “Need a little time to think / You don’t gotta wait for me / You can do your own thing / While I do some work on me.” Yes, we felt that.
Dream On
The light will never go out on Nadine Lustre, that’s just another known fact. As she continues to navigate the tempestuous waters of quite the temperamental industry, it is this same light she holds near and dear to heart that will guide her through the uncertain and unexpected. With every glisten, a new side to her is revealed, which not only makes the rest of the world understand her better, but in the same breath of conversation, she gets to know herself more. “I love music. It changes and moves me in a way that you cannot understand,” she says. “And for people who listen to my music to feel the same way, it’s really…it’s something else.”
Now, while Wait For Me cuts deep and challenges one otherwise, we won’t mind to wait up on Nadine Lustre, wherever we see (or hear) her next.
CONTINUE READIN: IN THE VISUAL TELLING OF WILDEST DREAMS, NADINE LUSTRE DEMYSTIFIES HER WHAT ONCE WAS, REALIZING WHO SHE REALLY IS
