Globelamp - The Orange Glow
- Written by Ashley Stein
Singer-songwriter, artist-traveller, psychedelicfolk musician-faerie queen; no matter the persona that her eclectic sound conjures up in your mind, Globelamp embodies them all. Although an American, her Kate Bush style voice coupled with lyrics focused around nature and the supernatural bring to mind beautiful scenes of English forests and fairy-tale beings.
A beautiful and day dream invoking track, 'Faerie Queen' truly transports you in to this magical realm. The sound of a running stream and birds chirping behind Globelamps choral style singing create such vivid images of a beautiful wooded areas, sunlight streaming through the trees, strange creatures dancing in the beams: “There are rivers and streams leading to the faerie queen/Do I often visit your dreams?” The instrumentation feels simple yet it’s hard to pin down what is actually being played, adding even more mysterious layers to this tranquil song.
Over the last year and a half, Elizabeth Fey (Globelamps real name) suffered the loss of her best friend as well as an extremely painful and sadly very public break up. Whilst these subjects can be felt throughout the album, 'The Negative' deals with both situations. Its lyrics speak not only of dealing with death and destruction but also moving past it in your own way. “She told me to buy a piece of black onyx to block out the negative. I didn’t know that would be the last advice that would escape from her lips/My plans are changing.”
Although the folk music format of elongated storytelling is familiar, the use of wind instruments alongside accordion here creates a medieval feel that, just like Fey’s overall sound, is unashamedly different. This ability to keep you engaged, even mystified, for longer than 5 minutes is showcased brilliantly on 'Moon Proof'. Although only violin and guitar are present, the double tracking on the vocals brings a much fuller sound. It also makes for a startlingly clear chorus “Maybe if we love each other long enough we’ll be moon proof.”
'Artist/Traveller' is similar in instrumentation; only guitar and piano seem to be present yet their intricate notes woven together create such a strong back bone for this emotionally wrenching song: “I left the only girl I love in the evergreen trees.” By the time you get to 'Don’t Go Walking In The Woods Alone At Night' you are sharing Fey’s emotions, her raw, exasperated energy seeps out of every word as her voice shakes with a controlled rage: “He had me crying he saw my dying, he saw me crying, he turned away.” You are so enamoured with the story that you don’t even realise this is an entirely acoustic track, guitar and vocals alone, spelling out Fey’s grief.
Fey’s ability to articulate her experiences so vividly is incredibly enchanting and really rather inspiring. We all face heart ache, pain, gut wrenching grief in our lifetimes and rather than dragging you down Fey’s music lifts you up in to solidarity; if she has survived this, so can you.