Early Fern - Perpetual Care (Transparent Green Vinyl) Vinyl LP

The bulk of Perpetual Care, Early Fern’s third album for Métron Records, was inspired by memories of a time and place of great emotional significance. Early and their partner had been working at a rural farm in Central New York, living in a small campervan nestled in a valley between two long ridges, with flowing creeks and rocky waterfalls, surrounded by hemlock and maple trees.

Unexpectedly they were evicted from this place of vast natural wonder and their lives were hastily upturned. Unable to return to the place they had grown so fond of, Perpetual Care stands as a document to this moment of upheaval in Early’s life and the recollection of their former home. “Creating music was a refuge, a place where I could create freely and openly both within and beyond my emotional state. In a way, I think of this as a break-up album with a place I had fallen in love with.” A deeply personal record, Perpetual Care stands as the first musical creation from Early after beginning hormone replacement therapy for gender transition, an experience they believe heavily informed their relationship to their memories and to these songs.

But despite this intimacy, with Early bravely sharing their interior experience with the world, Perpetual Care is an overflowing and expressive ode to the life force of Mother Nature. Densely layered, the album ebbs and flows and stands as a rich sonic monument to the beauty and healing power of nature. ‘’ The name Perpetual Care was drawn from some little signs which were placed around the local cemeteries, but I expanded the meaning to fit my needs. In my time of greatest deprivation, I am privileged that my needs were still met. When the people and places I love are gone from my life, their memories dwell inside me in Perpetual Care.’’

Owing to their nomadic lifestyle, Perpetual Care is borne from technical and physical limitations. Created using a cheap digital piano, a laptop, a gifted bass guitar and a clarinet, the work interweaves live instrumentation with field recordings taken from sites around the farm. It also marks the first time Early has been able to collaborate with another person in their musical practice. Lead single ‘Softly Brushed By Wind’ features Joseph Shabason contributing some beautiful wind work in a synergetic experience Early called “deeply gratifying and inspiring”.