Trauma, the first Banco de Gaia long player since 2016's The 9th of Nine Hearts, is an expression of stress and of suffering while also a celebration of overcoming and of hope. This juxtaposition is explored over the course of the album: a craving for peace in Mir; a simple bee sting in A Bee Song; loss and grieving in Draig Ddu; the wish for things to be otherwise in War; greed and abuse of power in My Little Country; AI's potential for good and/or bad in Electric Sheep; a yearning for something greater and purer in Mo Dhia; the unbearable weight of relentless suffering in Endure; and the resignation, acceptance and surrender of The Dying Light. The creation of the album was informed by both family and global issues: declining health in both parents was overshadowed by ongoing wars around the world, inducing trauma in millions of people (be they defender, aggressor, or innocent) while the growing environmental crisis inflicts damage on the very world we inhabit, cracking the fabric of our survival systems. Despite all of this, Trauma seeks and finds light in the darkness, and great beauty and joy in the midst of despair. The album is ultimately a celebration of the acceptance that in this huge universe we can dream of better and transcend our travails. As Toby reflects: "Nietzsche wrote "What doesn't kill me, makes me stronger". Perhaps that is what truly makes us human?"
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