Opener ‘Barking Dogs’ is an aftermath, a song both highly strung and strangely still, written about the death of Pasko’s father and a difficult break-up only months later. The dreamy vibe and melancholic piano capture the essence of loss, a paralysis where the air around you hums with shock and loneliness begins to leak through the gaps. ‘Favourite Desert’ picks up sometime later, details of the world beginning to prick the sedated state, despite attempts to ward them off.

“I’m walking up to your favorite dessert in the store
Now I am passing it by
This is letting you go”

‘Open Windows’ sees the process continue, images floating back as the gravity and permanency of the situation dawns slowly and cruelly and with great insistence. A second torment arises here, memories becoming flimsy and fallible as doubt creeps in, which leads into the proverbial rock bottom of ‘Me Alone’, a spacious, lonely track that hides an anxious thrashing and recursive self-punishment.

“I keep going back
Keeping it intact
Somewhere in my mind
I was left behind

I’m trying to find
I’m trying to find my way back”

‘The Still’ is another aftermath of sorts, a peaceful track descending from the peak of pain. Here the sense of loss is not so much diminished as better recognised, less alien and therefore easier to sit with. So while there’s still the urge to reset things, rewind the clock and go back, there’s also a renewed sense of strength, a determination that culminates in the closing minutes as guitars rise to a stark rumble. And while there’s no perfect rebirth here, no full recovery or return to life, ‘Get Right’ closes with a certain lightness, the lyrics impressionistic yet delivered with a conviction that has you delving into their meaning.

“I’m right beside a mountain in the sky
How lucky am I?”

Glass Period is out now and you can get it via the Caitlin Pasko Bandcamp page.

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