There’s this word, empyreal, which describes anything that relates to the highest of heavens in ancient cosmology. More casually it means divine, angelic, even celestial, which is coincidental as empyreal was the only term I could think of upon hearing soul singer Celeste’s new single ‘I Can See The Change.’

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Her voice, both frail and penetrating, is lifted on ‘I Can See The Change’ by a simple combination of piano and strings

Celeste has sounded otherworldly since her first EP was released in 2017, but it’s recent hits such as ‘Lately’ and ‘Strange’ (the latter of which she performed beautifully at the Brits) that have garnered her some much-deserved attention. Her voice, both frail and penetrating, is lifted on ‘I Can See The Change’ by a simple combination of piano and strings until the crescendo when sounds like it detaches itself from anything corporeal, drifting into the heavens. This gentle warping of her voice comes from producer Finneas who worked on the track and constructed the crescendo so Celeste sounds like she’s only just within reach of Earth, holding on only enough for us to hear her, muffled by the atmosphere.

Her lyrics are more down to Earth, talking about a personal journey out of stagnation into progress. The singer told Apple music as much, saying the song is about ‘hope and change, but also knowing that they require effort, patience, and conviction,’ which is easy to put into a wider context these days, applying it to the pandemic or the Black Lives Matter movement which has recently seen a massive resurgence following the harrowing murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, David McAtee, and countless others by police.

Given the darkness the world faces right now Celeste’s words depicting the world ‘oversold and out of lies,’ as we wait for it to ‘adjust’ are more appropriate than ever and hopefully herald some future brightness.

‘I Can See The Change’ is available now via Both Sides Records / Polydor Records

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