“An attempt to disconnect from the overwhelming anxieties of our time by imagining those forces larger than us. Call it nature, call it time, call it God Himself and all he created.” That’s how we described ‘There is a Treasure‘, the first single from Jeffrey Martin’s upcoming LP, Thank God We Left The Garden. Out via Loose Music and Fluff & Gravy Records, the album sees the Portland, Oregon songwriter continue to develop the personal, emotive brand of folk he introduced on 2017’s One Go Around, though now set against an increasingly perilous world. An attempt to chart and overcome the looming threats of our time with a stripped back and sincere practice of songwriting.
Latest single ‘Paper Crown’ continues this pattern, using its stark simplicity to engage with the ever more complex society in which we live. “This is a simple song that fell out of a complicated moment,” Martin explains. “We are in this mad race of technology and progress, and the pace of it can feel dizzying at times. ‘Paper Crown’ is a hopeful reminder that contentment is found in all the little ways we step outside of the rat race. It takes vigilance and courage to not be consumed by the machine we’ve created: vigilance to keep your heart elevated above the noise and courage to acknowledge everything you still don’t understand.”
The result is melancholic yet undeniably compassionate, not to mention simmering with a certain anger too. A hand extended to those who feel lost and left behind, as well as a confession to feeling the same way. “It’s staggering how much posturing is built into our society,” as Martin continues. “Everything from how we dress, to the titles we give ourselves at work, to the books on our shelves, the paint on our houses, the cars we drive, the degrees we earn—all of it to maintain the illusion that anyone has the first clue what is really happening here. And yet, in the privacy of our aloneness, most people feel desperately lost. Completely bowled over by the sheer amount of what they don’t understand. ‘Paper Crown’ is an attempt at celebrating that unknown, as opposed to fearing it and trying to hide it away.”
Thank God We Left The Garden is out via Loose Music and Fluff & Gravy Records on the 3rd November and you can pre-order it from the Jeffrey Martin Bandcamp page.