Grooblen – Dinosaur Plant/The Spider (2021)
The brainchild of San Francisco-based singer-songwriter Ellie Stokes, Grooblen is a creative, inventive and slightly quirky musical project. Since her debut single ‘Twiggy Molts’ in 2019, Stokes has shared her atmospheric acoustic sound with masses. Featured on various online radio stations, playlists and blogs (including YMX MusicBlog and The Bops Collective), Stokes is grabbing attention on an international scale. The latest addition to her discography is the two-song EP Dinosaur Plant/The Spider.
With the intimacy of Joni Mitchell, intensity of K.D. Lang and clarity of Fiona Apple, Grooblen layers endearing melodies atop heartfelt vocals. Her pseudonym may be lighthearted and ridiculously fun, but her tunes are far more pensive with poignant lyricism reflecting on her experiences with a rare optic nerve disease.
The theme of living with a rare medical condition begins with her well-received previous single ‘Me & The Gal Twogs’ where Stokes reflects on the early days of her prognosis. Dinosaur Plant/The Spider sees Stokes taking a deeper look into the process of coping with the prognosis. The stream-of-consciousness narrative elegantly executes the challenge, pain, desperation and fear of the content; moreover, the vulnerability of her spirit is expertly conveyed with a Joni Mitchell-esque folk design.
What I find intriguing is Stokes’s use of a stripped-back acoustic style to effectively portray feelings of confusion, frustration and rambling thoughts. The barebones combination of acoustic guitar and spoken word vocals have an ethereal quality making the EP somewhat spine-chilling. Yet, while ‘Dinosaur Plant’ and ‘The Spider’ are haunting, Stokes’s vocals add an unusual robustness to the EP bringing a rich warmth to the surreal ambience.
For more from Grooblen check out her Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
