Review: Last Days Of April

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Last Days Of April
“Ascend To The Stars”
(Bad Taste Records)

Heaphones create a very intimate environment in which to listen to music. The sounds become an element of your mind and seemingly exist there only for you. The Last Days Of April overwhelm this environment with their beautifully simple songs. Humble arrangements of guitar, bass and drums with melancholy vocals tconjure images of time spent just before dawn, reminiscing on past loves and lost childhood. The songs lure you into fragmented moments of detachment, into worlds of daydreams and the feeling of drifting off to sleep. Exquisite melodies grace each song and harbor elegant additions to the instruments. Muted xylophones, distorted electronic crescendos and driving feedback progressions wander through these delicate verses, complementing this timeless music that evokes emotions all people share.

There is also an excellent management of tempo; mixing faster, upbeat melodies at the beginning of the disc (“Angel Youth”, “Piano” and “Playerin”) with the mellow grooves that eventually play out through the 7 minute and 45 second closer “At Your Most Beautiful”, which, by title alone, needs no explanation. But the most intriguing aspect is the lack of bands to cite in reference to their sound. A weird thought when you think of their standard musical setup, but such a wonderful one when you stop and listen to it. This band has the understanding to make simply unique music built around pure emotion and excellent musicianship. What more could you ask for?