The latest album by Trappist Afterland “Evergreen – Walk to Paradise Garden” is what may be described as the tinge of bitterness that surrounds life. Recorded at a turning point in Adam Geoffrey Cole’s life and that of his mysterious folk band, this is the 10th record reflecting on hope, pain, and the silver lining of every cloud.
In this album, Cole wrote the songs during the winters in Adelaide and on long visits to see his mother in Kiama in the last years of her life, come from the depths of a broken heart and a failed marriage. However, out of these very personal tragic true stories emerges a portfolio of nine classic folk songs of the unexplained painful beauty of life and the ties that bind.
The album collaborated with Henry Parker, Angeline Morrison, and David Tibet, it blends traditional folk and mysticism and reflections. That is why such compositions as “The Squall” and “Barefoot in Thistles” pull the listeners into contemplative music rather than presenting intricate and elaborate acoustic stories accompanied by the stinging rhythm section. With the last song of the album, “You Are Evergreen” listeners get a perfect book-end to the album and an optimistic message about a new beginning.
This is a very stripped garage work where vocals, and profoundly simple lyrics from Cole can breathe and travel as far as possible. Having said that, the music and words of “Evergreen – Walk to Paradise Garden” are an album that much more than that – they are an emotional experience to which one is drawn in and which inspires choosing the path of joyful eternal life even having lost everything. Said to be flawless and truly eternal — as soul spiritual calling perfectly responds to.
