Last Days of April - Ascend to the Stars
It may be the nostalgia that Last Days of April is trying to strum away, but I can’t help myself from floating on that California sunset in the middle of spring.
I’ve only heard one song by Last Days of April before listening to this album. That one song used to be the staple of my sister’s life. I would hear it everywhere. Now with their new album Ascend to the Stars, I can enjoy my sister basing her life around a whole album instead of just “Will the Violins be Playing?” With my only background knowledge of that one song, Ascend to the Stars is very much like their sound. A summertime favorite that makes you think of California coasts and sunsets. Last Days of April has developed from their melancholy tunes to an optimistic point of writing music. I’m not saying that they completely left their old sound behind, but transformed the gloomy “I watch the pouring rain” sound to an “anyone up for some sand and surf?”
Every time I listen to the song “When I’m Gone, Will You?” I find myself imagining some love scene in a movie. A slow strum of a chord starts the song with a slow beat of the drum. A few soft melodies from a piano give a good intro for the lyrics. It gives me those butterflies in my stomach just trying to fathom the situation the songwriter, Karl Larsson, must be going through. As the song heads into the chorus, it’s almost like a schedule of things to be done within the week is sung out; “Monday. Stay indoors. Tuesday. Wish you'd call. Wednesday. I'll be fine without you. Thursday. I would call and on Friday. Regret it all. Sunday. Saturday's a blackout.” Lyrics like these sound the steps to take when getting over an old boyfriend or a girlfriend. Either way, there is some constant sadness in the slow pace of the song as well as Larsson’s lethargic voice.
Then there is always the break from the sadness and into the happiness. A song like “All Will Break” captivates the less miserable side of Last Days of April. This is the hit song off of the album. You might think that after something so gloomy a musical head-bobber cannot appear, but they pull it off well. If listening closely, there is the hint of xylophone in the background of the mildly heavy guitar. Once again Larsson has more sadness than a chick flick sound in his voice, but when the chorus breaks out there’s a side of him that is revealed. It is like listening to two halves of the same man. It starts off with a little shy and quiet voice, something like “Dr. Jekyll.” Then the chorus comes out and his “Mr. Hyde” appears straining his voice for everyone to hear “all this time / I've spent time on spending time with you / I've spent time on being bound for you / I was there for you,” angry lyrics for a very somber man.
Before writing this review, I listened to the album one last time to see if I could find anything else I would like to recognize. While listening to the second song “Piano,” I realized a similarity to their other song “Will the Violins be Playing?” It hit me with a little taste of nostalgia. I wouldn’t be surprised if I start hearing this song every time I pass my little sister’s room, and in my car, and on the subway. It may be the nostalgia that Last Days of April is trying to strum away, but I can’t help myself from floating on that California sunset in the middle of spring.
(crank! A Record Company)