April Magazine - Sunday Music For An Overpass (2021)

Review by Tim Sendra

April Magazine's first full-length release is a winning blend of lo-fi sonics, grungy noise, soaring melodies, and head-nodding repletion, leading to a feel that is at once intimately warm and low-key majestic. Sunday Music for an Overpass is half instrumental, half vocal, and all atmosphere as it sticks the needle firmly in melancholy. The group don't feel the need to sugarcoat the sound, letting the hum of amps, the hiss of vocal pops, and the occasional bum note all filter into the unbroken mood that sits somewhere between the Velvet Underground's first rehearsal and Yo La Tengo playing in a rainstorm. Of course, comparisons are easy, and April Magazine do fall into a long tradition of groups that ply a similar trade. Where they stake out a claim is on just how unvarnished they come across while still seeming purposeful. The songs on the record may seem like they are simple or somehow less important because they aren't polished, but their impact lies in the lack of any kind of buffer between the instruments, voices, and the listener. "Ride 38" is a good example. It has a simple chord progression, not much instrumentation, an audible rumble in the background, and vocals that veer dangerously close to cracking, but all the flaws and imperfections only serve to give it a very human, very real feeling that other bands of their ilk can't often deliver. The same basic equation works n "Baby It's All Right" and the peacefully meandering instrumental "Tiffany's Days Go By." Other songs aim for a more fleshed-out appraoch that's almost bombastic by comparison and which works well too. The layers of sound on "Blue" join together by the end to give the track a very uplifting feel; and "Soft Purple Sky" is a lovely mix of heavenly vocal harmonies, scruffy guitar noise, and thrumming bass; while on "Sugar Daddy," they add synths to the mix and almost sound slick -- again, by comparison. The two sides of the band sit nicely next to each other, and it's borderline thrilling to hear them figuring out how to take their influences, churn them up, and spit out something new and meaningful. They've certainly done that on Sunday Music for an Overpass.

Tracklist:
1-1 April Magazine - Shrine [2:28]
1-2 April Magazine - Baby It's Alright [5:12]
1-3 April Magazine - Ride 38 [3:50]
1-4 April Magazine - Tiffany's Days Go By [4:59]
1-5 April Magazine - Christopher Siren [0:58]
1-6 April Magazine - Sugar Daddy [3:38]
1-7 April Magazine - Blue [4:24]
1-8 April Magazine - Soft Purple Sky [6:10]
1-9 April Magazine - The World In Julia's Eyes [2:30]