Bjéar’s experimental-folk EP ‘After The Rain’ connects the elements. It showers with bittersweet calmness, fuelled by the everlasting nature of water.

As the rain covers the fresh green grass, a familiar feeling begins to take over. This EP travels far and meets you at the spots where picturesque sights manifest themselves in heartfelt sensations. It shows the listener that even sadness is hopeful in nature.

“It’s about losing hope and finding hope, maybe even relocating the origin of your hope. It’s about mourning. It’s about patterns we live out. And it’s about the connection all of those ideas have with weather, water, wind, sunshine, spring, and how essential it can all end up feeling when it’s looked at through that lens. It’s more hopeful and at peace than the album is, and I find that releasing it first is narratively unique,” the Australian-born singer comments.

The EP opens with ‘Wind’, a track that lures you into the picturesque world of Bjéar’s music. This song is the sun rising on the moss-covered hills, making the drops of a freshly passed rain sparkle with a promise of a dream. The singer’s voice blends with the chords of what imagination paints as an old guitar, the kind that, through the years, turned from instrument to loyal companion. As Wind builds up, the feelings that have been bottled up inside are granted a sweet release.

‘The Storm’ follows Wind. The sounds of the rain bring peaceful revelations. Rain is at the heart of this track. The artist’s choice to break the EP down with a song that contains sounds of raindrops in tune with a slow melody is a great one. The Storm allows the time to sit with the themes of the EP, take them in. It invites you to listen to your own thoughts, your mind’s lyrics.

‘After the Rain’ solidifies the tone. It is cinematic and visual. The lyrics match the music in a melodic solitude. After the Rain perfectly encapsulates its name. It is the sadness of looking out at the world after the rain; it is the aftermath, yet it is still an experience. The track touches your heart, and as Bjéar sings the words of loss, you are taken back to nature, back to the earth and the rain, back to where your mind unites with the seasons. As the song ends, you spot bits of sunlight shining through the cloudy sky.

‘A Journey Through Pristine Waters’ is the perfect send-off for this soulful EP. This track is a coast, it is waves slowly coming and going. A Journey Through Pristine Waters feels like a return to the calmness of water. Slowly, the acoustic guitar takes you from the shore into the sea. Wave by wave, you disappear in the movement.