With 'Afterlife', the scope and ambition of McCarthys vision has expanded on a cosmic scale. The cyclical nature of the universe, the possibility that it will eventually collapse and then explode into a reborn reality - and the distinct possibility that this has already happened, perhaps many times - was enthralling enough to fuel an hours worth of adventurous, stargazing music that traces the life cycle of our solar system. 'Afterlife' is the follow-up to McCarthys critically lauded 'The Better Angels of Our Nature', which explored the Civil War era and its music through stunning original compositions and brilliant reimaginings of vintage folk songs.