Appalachian Seafoam, the unexpected and deeply personal new album from Trash Panda’s founder and frontman Patrick Taylor, has been released today with no prior announcement. Crafted over four years, this Americana folk album is a raw reflection of Taylor’s journey through personal growth, struggles, and a search for meaning.

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Taylor began working on Appalachian Seafoam in a barn nestled in the mountains near Burnsville, NC, following a decade marred by self-sabotage, health crises, and heartbreak. The project initially served as an outlet for Taylor’s reintegration into life, capturing lessons learned from the pressures of love, his upbringing, and life’s unexpected turns. Though completed in 2023, Taylor kept the album under wraps, feeling that its vulnerability was too intense to share. In 2024, the album was quietly released, finally stepping into the light.

"I called it Appalachian Seafoam initially because, in reflecting on my time in the mountains and on the move, I felt caught up in the quantum foam," Patrick Taylor shared. "I felt like I was washed around in an ocean of synchronicity and strangeness, as if my life were a dream. The other, more grounded side of that name simply refers to the fact that my journey wrapped itself up at the seaside, which I eventually made my home.  And then of course there’s the dark synchronicity of the title, which I did not at all intend.  I named the album and sent it off for release several weeks before Hurricane Helene, and only several days after that tragedy did the resonance of it hit me.  My friends and I organized a relief trip up to Swannanoa the week after the storm and worked several days alongside the local population.  The people of that region are going through so much right now and they’re displaying incredible heroism and resilience in the face of intense destruction and dislocation.”

Patrick has long roots in the region as well.  His great grandfather learned to play the guitar while doing trail work in Western North Carolina for the CCC under Roosevelt’s New Deal in the 1930’s, and the family’s presence in the region dates back to the 1700’s.  He grew up spending time each year in North Carolina and always felt a special spiritual resonance with the place.  That resonance continues to this day. 

The album’s origin story is as mysterious as its title. According to Taylor, the inspiration for the songs came from a surreal experience in which he imagined a woman rising from a pool of seafoam in the barn where the recording took place. Her speech left him stunned, and the attempt to recall her words transformed into the eleven songs that make up Appalachian Seafoam. The record is a blend of haunting melodies and introspective lyrics, offering listeners a glimpse into the mind of a man piecing himself back together.

Taylor, who is best known for his work with Trash Panda, first gained recognition when the band’s 2016 single "Giuseppe" went viral, placing them on Spotify’s top charts. Despite the success, the years that followed were marked by personal and psychological challenges. Seeking solace and clarity, Taylor embarked on a solo spiritual journey across the American West, reconnecting with nature and his own creativity. The culmination of those experiences is what now forms the heart and soul of Appalachian Seafoam.