What happens when you cross Adele’s theme of 007’s Skyfall with the theme of one of Star’s albums? You get Laura Rae’s “Glimpses of Ghosts”; an airy reverb-infused piano ballad in the style of Agnes Obel. More haunting than haunted, “Glimpses of Ghosts” isn’t troubled nearly so much by voices in the dark, so much as the little voices that nag with “what-ifs”—the ghost of opportunity cost.
There’s no fear quite the fear that you might have made the wrong choice somewhere along the line and the quest for greener pastures may have irreparably set you on the wrong path. Laura Rae’s second single, as the chorus suggests, is definitely about choosing a pathing and knowing you’ll be committed to it “one way, no return.”
“I wrote the tune after reading an article in Psychology Today that talked about the road not taken haunting us, and how to move past the desire to constantly look back,” explains Laura Rae.
“The song is about the ‘what-ifs’, the path not taken, what could have been… It’s about who you wish you had become, where you could have traveled, and all the doubts you’ve ever had. It’s about the wishes that never came true, about an unrealised version of you… All glimpses of ghosts. The ending, resolving in a chorus of airy vocables, bring a sense of peace.”
And so, we must all content ourselves in the prospects of the multiverse; knowing that somewhere, the best versions of ourselves are living the best version of our lives. Or the worst versions of ourselves are. Multiverses are more about beating the averages, really. The fact of the matter is we’re always going to be haunted by the possibilities, and songs like Laura Rae’s “Glimpses of Ghosts” we can collectively acknowledge that and mourn the what-ifs.
Show Dates:
11.04.21 – Halifax, NS – Gahan House
11.13.21 – Halifax, NS – Hopyard
11.18.21 – Halifax, NS – Gahan House
12.02.21 – Halifax, NS – Gahan House
12.16.21 – Halifax, NS – Gahan House
01.15.22 – Dartmouth, NS – New Scotland Brewing Co. with The Wilderness Revival
01.21.22 – Halifax, NS – Good Robot Barroom with The Wilderness Revival