Release title: Ghostland
Catalogue number: CAM041CD
Format: Gatefold card sleeve/32 page booklet
Length: 14 tracks, 51:18
Release date: 31 May 2001
(US$15.00 shipped anywhere)
The Goblin Market project takes its name from an extended poem of the same name by Victorian writer Christina Rossetti, and continues Jeff Kelly's fascination with the works of the Pre-Raphaelite painters and poets. This obsession, present in Green Pajamas songs like the "Song for Christina" single and solo songs like "My Elizabeth" from Kelly's "Private Electrical Storm" cassette, is given full reign in the Goblin Market project. Laura Weller's shared interest in the subject matter, and extraordinary vocal and song-writing skills complement Kelly's always' outstanding work, and they seem to push each other to new heights. Her work as a songwriter and lead vocalist have hitherto only been known to those lucky enough to have experienced her work in her largely-unreleased band Capping Day.
The working method of the Goblin Market project was to set poems by Christina Rossetti, Emily Brontė, Elizabeth Siddal, and E. A. Poe, as well as the period-sympathetic lyrics of Kelly and Weller, to a range of folk-rock styles from the simply acoustic to the baroquely psychedelic. The opening track "Autumn Leaves" caused a sensation when debuted as a live Green Pajamas track at the prestigious Terrastock 4 festival in Seattle in November 2000. In that instance, a haunting acoustic guitar, flute and twin vocal introduction bridged into a 10 minute electric guitar onslaught. It is presented here in its original acoustic form. Laura's rendition of Elizabeth Siddal's "At Last" transports the listener back to a century where dying of romantic rejection or abandonment was seen as a valid career move, and a winding-sheet an equally valid fashion accessory. Kelly's "Highgate" medley is like a tour of Pre-Raphaelite grave sites on acid, and indeed was inspired by a recent visit to the famous cemetery by Kelly. "My Elizabeth", previously on Kelly's "Private Electrical Storm", is given new life in a brilliant new version here. And Weller's "Ditra Flame", "Grace" and "But a Dream", herald the birth of a highly-skilled songwriter, able to conjure genuinely gothic visions, far removed from the usual post-glam surface fashions now associated with that concept.
At the end of the day, this album isn't much like anything else we've heard, but is should appeal to Pajamas/E6 psych-pop fans as well as lovers of revered vintage progressive folk like Mellow Candle, Trees, Spriguns and Loudest Whisper.
CAM073CD
Goblin Market -
"Haunted" CDAll material in this web page is copyright 2006 Camera Obscura Records