A Sense of Hope
EP, Dec. 21, 2022

Four songs, written as one suite and released on the winter solstice, the darkest day of the year and the point where the days start to lengthen. “When the Storm Comes” opens with rainfall under keys, synths and drums. “Better Way” picks up an electric guitar edge and takes on inequity directly. “The Whole in the Part” starts on a near-operatic vocal and builds around a phrase that shifts each time it loops. The title track begins quietly and adds percussion, bass and synth layer by layer before settling back down.

Dove Pax wrote the EP about hard times and the choice each person makes inside them:

“It’s not what happens to me / But how I respond to reality”

Jessica Richards: vocals, piano, synth, bass. Ryan Richards: guitar, bass, keys. John O’Reilly Jr.: drums. Produced and mixed by Dove Pax in their Portland studio. Mastered at Sterling Sound, New York. Featured in the Portland Press Herald.