The concept for and palette of Crystal Dorval aka White Poppys Paradise Gardens trilogy first germinated in 2016 as a notion of paradise music combining new age, bedroom shoegaze, and bossa nova into transcendental Tropicalia. As she filled tapes of recordings exploring the idea, many of the songs gradually gravitated towards the hermetic dream pop her project is best known for, becoming the albums Paradise Gardens (2020) and Sound Of Blue (2023). Dorval describes these collections as a sort of emotional purging or shadow work, before arriving at the state of inner paradise: Ataraxia.

As the third, final, and most purist realisation of the original Paradise Gardens vision, Ataraxia delivers. Nine instrumentals of nimble guitar, elevated bass, clean rhythm, and clear light, gliding like swans on a shimmering pond.

Theres a sense throughout of playful tranquillity, of serenades at sunset, of kisses of blissful Muzak wafting along a boardwalk.

But behind the music is a patience, grace, and levity born of Dorvals personal journey with spiritual healing that paralleled the trilogy. A process of transmuting pain into beauty, day by day, melody by melody, cleaving the darkness from the soul and re-entering ones rightful home in the Garden.