Plugging along, Foxborough’s own Space Cowboy Newt (known to the world as Emma Newton) supplies us with some lush tracks. One song whose smooth harp plucks and soul-lifting violins hamper a story that turns from dark to light. “Salt Lamp” is about when Newton had bad panic attacks and health anxieties, and she was given a notebook by her mom to record all of her thoughts before going to sleep as a child. Somehow, such a young tragedy turned into a song for those looking for an escape from their own fears and anxieties.
The more psychedelic “Whittle Me Down isn’t as blessed with a happy ending, but is just as focused on shining the light on the demons. In this case, we mean self-esteem surrounding the body. “I used to walk the Earth in this body without a second thought,” they sing. “But I guess that I forgot how to step out from the spotlight of my own eyes.” Staring too long at the self will breed habits of analyzing what you see, and while such discomfort is hard to shake, somehow Newton writes a song that inspired softness as well as an accurate sonic photograph of what it is like to not be able to resist the negative focus on something that you cannot change.
Written by mynameisblueskye
