Chloe Jobin - A Different Light (EP)
The walls blocking the light are see through for Chloe, the more she thinks about it, she can practically walk right through them, her spirit at least with vocals this angelic. The mystique off rip is intriguing, it’s almost like the walls are closing in but she’s following the echoes of the voices in her head. Tunnel vision as the light at the end of it is becoming less lambent the further she treads down the garden path, the mist slowly dissipating, revealing a new beacon. It’s a daunting beginning to the EP, the contrasts she’s drawing, “the more I hide, the more I show”, so on & so forth, what’s done in the dark will soon be revealed in the light, you can’t hide your true self forever. A shattering soliloquy as she’s left scooping up the shards to start a new mosaic pattern with these pieces of her stained glass heart.
She’s marching forward, now free of the shackles once digging into her wrists & ankles, refusing to be imprisoned, in any sense of the word. She’s not someone who needs to be tamed, she could care less about what it is you have to say, especially with a condescending tone by the looks of it. It’s a sultry little ditty, reeling the bait in just to toss them back into Lake Placid. She knows what they want but she ain’t gonna give it to them. She’s strutting all over this one, a real heel driver into your jugular. She’s not taking no more shit from anybody, especially herself, hence the title of the record. She didn’t really believe herself either in the beginning, possibly others not believing played a role but regardless, she’s got something to prove, mostly to herself.
Of course one must be nomadic, you ever sat in one place for too long, you almost drive yourself stir crazy. I’m sure she can’t understand how anyone can be complacent living like that, almost like a dolphin, she’d be smashing her head against the glass tank, trying to break free. The second she broke away, she was long “Gone”, away from the restraints certain people, quote unquote “held her down” to. It’s unfortunate when you have a heart as delicate as hers clearly is, it’s like it gets you nowhere sometimes or at least it’s just hard to fucking see it, which makes her saying “I never was a bitch but look where that got me”, sting all the more. Sometimes you want to stoop down to people’s level, take the low road if they’re just gonna walk all over you on the high road, then what’s the point. She can be stern though & still not change that heart of hers, however people take it is on them but she’s not just gonna not put her foot down & remove herself from situations that aren’t so welcoming to her presence.
It’s funny how we look at one another as each other’s savior. After all, we’re not God, we’re not capable of saving much, half us can barely save ourselves yet we think we can save someone else. It’s the most earnest we’ve ever heard her. She’s asking this person to let her off the pedestal & focus on yourself, prioritize you for a change. We get so caught up in trying to resolve the issues of others that we neglect ourselves in the process & unfortunately, as a result a lot of the time, we end up growing resentment for that other person, as if it’s up to them to save us from ourselves. It’s almost laughable pondering the times where you played the victim, I think we’re all guilty of it to some extent. But although she can’t save you, she can be there for you if you allow her to, if you grab hold of the olive branch she’s extending so as to lend you her ear, at the very least. This life is overwhelming enough as it is, please don’t add any further pressure with these unrealistic expectations of those you love.
The EP ends on another daunting note. “Seventeen” is a very poignant number, that’s a double entendre by the way, cause what a serious note to conclude upon. Sure, they both may have been just kids at the time but the way that person acted was uncalled for. The innocence being stripped away from her is felt in the pain throughout her voice as she relives this trauma with vivid enough imagery to make out exactly what occurred. That’s not love, it’s apparent to her now that she’s reached the light at the end of the tunnel, the first sight of it, she was out of sight & out of mind.