Crystal Dorval has been recording as White Poppy for well over a decade. All but one of her seven albums to date have been released on Amanda and Britt Brown’s L.A.-based imprint, Not Not Fun. The latest, Ataraxia, is the final part of a trilogy that began with 2020’s Paradise Gardens. Dorval describes the music as “trancendental tropicalia” and the long-player as “an emotional purging”. Hence its title, which in Ancient Greek philosophy is a state of mental serenity.

The tunes are all suitably light-hearted pieces, that demonstrate Dorval’s dexterity on guitar. The opening Mind Garden is gently strummed and picked, softly syncopated, and totally groovy. Floral Dreams is just a little rockier. The riffing recalling Ducktails, Mark McGuire and early Torn Hawk, while its brass-like fanfares and melodic synths summon the sensitive `80s pop of people like China Crisis. The bucolic, blissful bedsit bossa nova of Ordinary Magic begs comparison with the “indie-jazz” of Ben Watt, Tracey Thorn and Everything But The Girl’s Eden. Soul Utopia has birdsong and summery strumming sit atop a shimmering Cocteau Twins-esque wall of layered, reverb-ed guitar-generated sound. The ethereal siren of Ataraxia itself is also in the thrall of The Cocteaus’ Treasure and Echoes In A Shallow Bay. Swans is another laid-back idyllic aural landscape peppered with field recorded wildlife. Birds, but also frogs and insects. The complex chiming and ringing of Pearl is almost Ash Ra in places, while Himmel conjures Rocket Girl’s fragile July Skies. Kiss Of Peace is a closing hit of heavenly new age vapour, which within its mists harbours harp-like glissandi and a hint of celestial choir.

White Poppy’s Ataraxia is out now on Not Not Fun.