Globelamp
Those of you who regularly dip in and out of the blog will already have realised how much I'm totally enamoured by the music of Globelamp or Elizabeth Lefey as she is known to family and friends. I've already raved over both "Stardust" (in fact it was one of my albums of the year) and her incredibly personalised "Covers" album.
And now Globelamp is back with a brand new album "The Orange Glow" - her first on Joel Jerome's (who also co-produced, recorded and mixed the tracks) Psychedelic Thriftstore label - and her first proper studio recording. It's an album that I'm incredibly excited by, but at the same time just a little intimidated...
From the opening bars of "Washington moon" it is obvious that similar to her fellow Olympians Oh, Rose time and money in the studio have been well spent. "Washington Moon" needs no introduction - having waltzed into my 2014 Playlist - it's the type of psychedelic-tinged, indie-folk song that Elizabeth has effectively trademarked and revolves around the affinity with both her Californian birthplace and her Olympia, WA home.
There's something absolutely endearing about Elizabeth's voice as she yearns for both a Californian sun and a Washington moon at the same time. The song is yet another incredibly soothing, psychedelic-tinged, indie-folk song that has become her trademark, before she laments that try as she might, she can't be in both places. But in-place of the demo-like quality of the original (which I'm on record to having enthused over), here the song feels multi-textural and three-dimensional. Don't worry, there's still this overwhelming homely - warming - lo-fi 'feel' (it's not as if Elizabeth has recorded the album with the LA Philharmonic - although there's a sound I'd like to hear), but it is as if an aural fog has lifted. Elizabeth's vocals literally 'pop'; the tremolo and fetching sibilance in her voice is more prominent, there some gorgeous multi-tracking, added depth to the acoustic guitar alongside the noticeable cadence of the percussion. The overwhelming impression is that I'm hearing the song afresh - as if it were for the first time.
If you've ever listened to Globelamp you'll have realised that for all her endearing quirkiness, Elizabeth is primarily a story-teller and that her songs are deeply and movingly personal, her recordings feel part of a deliberate cathartic process. "Controversial / Confrontational" is another old favourite that feels like it has been given a new lease of life. An up-tempo indie-folk song, it points a few fingers at untrustworthy souls everywhere - and while we males (and Elizabeth probably had one in mind here) are the target for scorn - no one is spared, including Elizabeth herself. Again, her vocals have been multi-layered to stunning textural effect - oscillating in tone between anger, begrudging acceptance to sorrow. Something - or more likely someone - triggered this rupture and Elizabeth tries to pinpoint the moment when. This person is deserving of some serious grief... and then will probably be hugged immediately afterwards. While the song paints an image of confusion, the overwhelming impression is that love and hate are two sides of the same coin.
There are always those mystical and mysterious songs which makes listening to a Globelamp album an incredibly challenging yet ultimately a rewarding and most enjoyable experience. On "The negative" - once you've dragged yourself away from the haunting analogue keyboards and all those changes in tempo and key of Elizabeth's vocals - you rapidly loose yourself in the mysticism of the song's lyrics; does the world we live in strip away the innocence from childhood? ("...Old souls are living in younger bodies...") It's the kind of song that leaves you swirling the lyrics around on your head a long while after you think you've finished listening and contains two lines that to me sum up everything that makes Globelamp such an underrated artist (the rest of you just haven't discovered her yet); "...Answers are just questions killing time, And time is a dimension I can't find... Then again, since I can't control what I don't understand, the mystery will always have an upper hand... Meanwhile, "Invisible prisons" is the most incredibly well constructed song that is built over yet another gorgeous contemporary indie-folk melodies. In many respects - and from a lyrical perspective - I suspect that this is my favourite song on the album, as Elizabeth changes the whole context of the song - through very accomplished wordplay - within the first verse.
"The Orange Glow" also sees Elizabeth search deep within herself to reveal a more introspective side - probably none more so than "Moon proof." Here soothing violin - you can never have enough orchestral strings on a tune to be honest - perfectly compliments Elizabeth's honeyed and ethereal tones for what is a beguiling love song - although given that this is Globelamp - perhaps a reason not to fall in love; "... keep thinking the best view of life must be from the roof, Cuz then I'll see when it comes crashing... "Moon proof" is an absolute gem of a song which ultimately hints that love will find away to melt even this witch's heart. For as the song's totally enchanting refrain admits; "...Maybe if we love each other long enough, we'll be moon proof..." I've also read that Globelamp's use of fantasy and narrative alongside the medium of music, allows her songs to explore the world from the viewpoint of the artist as traveler. Now I tend to use the phrase 'deceptively simple' quite often - but the piano and acoustic guitar that accompanies her mellowed vocals on "Artist / Traveler" really allows her lyrical imagery to run wild. In my case there's this overwhelming impression of a restless soul relentlessly channeling their life and their experiences through their art. Yet I can't help feel that there are also nagging doubts - life can be frustratingly complicated - there's an unending sense of loss and the never-ending search for a kindred spirit. This journey has a long way to go before it reaches its end...
"Master of lonely" looks back on a relationship that once burnt bright but for which the flames have long since been extinguished. However this isn't a song brimming with anger or contempt - yes there are a few barbed-wire bouquets ("...If he says he loves you but then he ain't got your back, Trust me baby you don't want a man like that...") - but in reality this is a song that is tinged with sadness and a not a little regret. While incredibly personal, the overwhelming impression is that her sadness is reflected on someone else. Globelamp has moved on - she may have been hurt and bruised - but this is a confident woman who knows that time will heal those scars.
There are a couple of songs on the album that at first appears to stand apart from the predominantly psychedelic-sheened indie-folk and autobiographical nature of this record. The sound of shouting voices greet the opening of "Don't go walking in the woods alone at night" before the song spirals into probably the most harrowing song that Elizabeth has recorded since her cover of Bright Eyes' "Amy in the white coat" and there's a noticeable shift in tone during the song's chorus - from sorrow and resignation to anger and indignation. And while "Piece of the pie" a - grungy fed-back and reverbed guitars, metronomic drums - a disembodied choir (which admittedly Globelamp has used to great effect in the past) stridently expresses dismay at today's win at all cost mentality. But the lyrics - while shorn of a lot of the album's symbolism - still display those delightful deft insightful touches and the song strongly suggests that Elizabeth has several arrows to her bow.
It's been suggested that "The Orange Glow" refers to the colours of autumn - as the vivid colours of summer give way to hues of orange and red that carpet the woodlands as leaves fall and decay sets in... Except it's not decay, it's just the end of one life cycle that will sustain another... Which I'd like to think is explained in the mysticism of the title track's lyrics; "...A shed in the snow, The orange orange glow, Beautiful realities, We'll never know..."
The album closes with the sound of a running stream as "Faerie queen" returns to the transcendental story-telling and folk-tinged melodies that are woven throughout the fabric of this album. Through a surreal, dreamlike quality, the song is littered with mysticism that has become Globelamp's trademark.
However it is probably the song "San Francisco" that has gathered the most column inches and generally set the blogosphere abuzz and is Elizabeth's restrained and dignified response to the Foxygen song of the same name (I'm not going to dignify this band by making any reference to them - save that Google can be your friend here). Here events are retold from Elizabeth's perspective and again it is her astute lyrics that resonate - an escape from a potentially destructive relationship playing Nancy to Sid, which has ultimately left her stronger and looking forward, not back into the past...
"The Orange Glow" confirms the prodigious talent that Globelamp - Elizabeth Lefey - showed on her home-spun recordings that so enthralled me last year. Her innovative indie-psychedelic twist to the contemporary folk genre alongside her captivating stories draws the listener into her mysterious - at times introspective, others extrovert - intensely personal world. My expectations for this album have been more than met, I've also been reassuring intimidated - there are times when my humble blogging skills fail to do an album justice - this is one such occasion.
Year-listed.
Globelamp
"The Orange Glow" (Bandcamp), (Psychedelic ThriftStore)
And now Globelamp is back with a brand new album "The Orange Glow" - her first on Joel Jerome's (who also co-produced, recorded and mixed the tracks) Psychedelic Thriftstore label - and her first proper studio recording. It's an album that I'm incredibly excited by, but at the same time just a little intimidated...
From the opening bars of "Washington moon" it is obvious that similar to her fellow Olympians Oh, Rose time and money in the studio have been well spent. "Washington Moon" needs no introduction - having waltzed into my 2014 Playlist - it's the type of psychedelic-tinged, indie-folk song that Elizabeth has effectively trademarked and revolves around the affinity with both her Californian birthplace and her Olympia, WA home.
There's something absolutely endearing about Elizabeth's voice as she yearns for both a Californian sun and a Washington moon at the same time. The song is yet another incredibly soothing, psychedelic-tinged, indie-folk song that has become her trademark, before she laments that try as she might, she can't be in both places. But in-place of the demo-like quality of the original (which I'm on record to having enthused over), here the song feels multi-textural and three-dimensional. Don't worry, there's still this overwhelming homely - warming - lo-fi 'feel' (it's not as if Elizabeth has recorded the album with the LA Philharmonic - although there's a sound I'd like to hear), but it is as if an aural fog has lifted. Elizabeth's vocals literally 'pop'; the tremolo and fetching sibilance in her voice is more prominent, there some gorgeous multi-tracking, added depth to the acoustic guitar alongside the noticeable cadence of the percussion. The overwhelming impression is that I'm hearing the song afresh - as if it were for the first time.
If you've ever listened to Globelamp you'll have realised that for all her endearing quirkiness, Elizabeth is primarily a story-teller and that her songs are deeply and movingly personal, her recordings feel part of a deliberate cathartic process. "Controversial / Confrontational" is another old favourite that feels like it has been given a new lease of life. An up-tempo indie-folk song, it points a few fingers at untrustworthy souls everywhere - and while we males (and Elizabeth probably had one in mind here) are the target for scorn - no one is spared, including Elizabeth herself. Again, her vocals have been multi-layered to stunning textural effect - oscillating in tone between anger, begrudging acceptance to sorrow. Something - or more likely someone - triggered this rupture and Elizabeth tries to pinpoint the moment when. This person is deserving of some serious grief... and then will probably be hugged immediately afterwards. While the song paints an image of confusion, the overwhelming impression is that love and hate are two sides of the same coin.
There are always those mystical and mysterious songs which makes listening to a Globelamp album an incredibly challenging yet ultimately a rewarding and most enjoyable experience. On "The negative" - once you've dragged yourself away from the haunting analogue keyboards and all those changes in tempo and key of Elizabeth's vocals - you rapidly loose yourself in the mysticism of the song's lyrics; does the world we live in strip away the innocence from childhood? ("...Old souls are living in younger bodies...") It's the kind of song that leaves you swirling the lyrics around on your head a long while after you think you've finished listening and contains two lines that to me sum up everything that makes Globelamp such an underrated artist (the rest of you just haven't discovered her yet); "...Answers are just questions killing time, And time is a dimension I can't find... Then again, since I can't control what I don't understand, the mystery will always have an upper hand... Meanwhile, "Invisible prisons" is the most incredibly well constructed song that is built over yet another gorgeous contemporary indie-folk melodies. In many respects - and from a lyrical perspective - I suspect that this is my favourite song on the album, as Elizabeth changes the whole context of the song - through very accomplished wordplay - within the first verse.
"The Orange Glow" also sees Elizabeth search deep within herself to reveal a more introspective side - probably none more so than "Moon proof." Here soothing violin - you can never have enough orchestral strings on a tune to be honest - perfectly compliments Elizabeth's honeyed and ethereal tones for what is a beguiling love song - although given that this is Globelamp - perhaps a reason not to fall in love; "... keep thinking the best view of life must be from the roof, Cuz then I'll see when it comes crashing... "Moon proof" is an absolute gem of a song which ultimately hints that love will find away to melt even this witch's heart. For as the song's totally enchanting refrain admits; "...Maybe if we love each other long enough, we'll be moon proof..." I've also read that Globelamp's use of fantasy and narrative alongside the medium of music, allows her songs to explore the world from the viewpoint of the artist as traveler. Now I tend to use the phrase 'deceptively simple' quite often - but the piano and acoustic guitar that accompanies her mellowed vocals on "Artist / Traveler" really allows her lyrical imagery to run wild. In my case there's this overwhelming impression of a restless soul relentlessly channeling their life and their experiences through their art. Yet I can't help feel that there are also nagging doubts - life can be frustratingly complicated - there's an unending sense of loss and the never-ending search for a kindred spirit. This journey has a long way to go before it reaches its end...
"Master of lonely" looks back on a relationship that once burnt bright but for which the flames have long since been extinguished. However this isn't a song brimming with anger or contempt - yes there are a few barbed-wire bouquets ("...If he says he loves you but then he ain't got your back, Trust me baby you don't want a man like that...") - but in reality this is a song that is tinged with sadness and a not a little regret. While incredibly personal, the overwhelming impression is that her sadness is reflected on someone else. Globelamp has moved on - she may have been hurt and bruised - but this is a confident woman who knows that time will heal those scars.
There are a couple of songs on the album that at first appears to stand apart from the predominantly psychedelic-sheened indie-folk and autobiographical nature of this record. The sound of shouting voices greet the opening of "Don't go walking in the woods alone at night" before the song spirals into probably the most harrowing song that Elizabeth has recorded since her cover of Bright Eyes' "Amy in the white coat" and there's a noticeable shift in tone during the song's chorus - from sorrow and resignation to anger and indignation. And while "Piece of the pie" a - grungy fed-back and reverbed guitars, metronomic drums - a disembodied choir (which admittedly Globelamp has used to great effect in the past) stridently expresses dismay at today's win at all cost mentality. But the lyrics - while shorn of a lot of the album's symbolism - still display those delightful deft insightful touches and the song strongly suggests that Elizabeth has several arrows to her bow.
It's been suggested that "The Orange Glow" refers to the colours of autumn - as the vivid colours of summer give way to hues of orange and red that carpet the woodlands as leaves fall and decay sets in... Except it's not decay, it's just the end of one life cycle that will sustain another... Which I'd like to think is explained in the mysticism of the title track's lyrics; "...A shed in the snow, The orange orange glow, Beautiful realities, We'll never know..."
The album closes with the sound of a running stream as "Faerie queen" returns to the transcendental story-telling and folk-tinged melodies that are woven throughout the fabric of this album. Through a surreal, dreamlike quality, the song is littered with mysticism that has become Globelamp's trademark.
However it is probably the song "San Francisco" that has gathered the most column inches and generally set the blogosphere abuzz and is Elizabeth's restrained and dignified response to the Foxygen song of the same name (I'm not going to dignify this band by making any reference to them - save that Google can be your friend here). Here events are retold from Elizabeth's perspective and again it is her astute lyrics that resonate - an escape from a potentially destructive relationship playing Nancy to Sid, which has ultimately left her stronger and looking forward, not back into the past...
"The Orange Glow" confirms the prodigious talent that Globelamp - Elizabeth Lefey - showed on her home-spun recordings that so enthralled me last year. Her innovative indie-psychedelic twist to the contemporary folk genre alongside her captivating stories draws the listener into her mysterious - at times introspective, others extrovert - intensely personal world. My expectations for this album have been more than met, I've also been reassuring intimidated - there are times when my humble blogging skills fail to do an album justice - this is one such occasion.
Year-listed.
Globelamp
"The Orange Glow" (Bandcamp), (Psychedelic ThriftStore)
Comments
Post a Comment