Review: Always April - Seven Singles

Label: self-released (only available at shows)

Released: 2007

Seven Singles seethes with insanity. It reaches the outer limits of craziness without completely losing control. As such, it isn't for everyone, but if you can get past poor production and near chaos, there's something here in which to lose yourself. The drums are so loose that they're all over the place. When they're audible, the bass lines have good movement. The guitar is just contained enough to keep some sense of structure, barley keeping complete mania from ensuing. The real gem on the album is Charmaine's voice. It's bold, strong and darkly sensual. Adding a bit of phaser at times gives it a trippiness that fits right in with the overall sense of crazy.

The recordings are very live, visceral, in the moment and on one level that acts as a strength. Nonetheless, Always April needs to find a way to harness their energy into a more recordable insanity. They hint at this on "Th1rt3en," but they aren't quite there. "Elvira," the album's noisiest, remains the strongest track. Whatever they manage to put down in the studio, I'd bet money that they're practically a nervous breakdown live and that has to be worth hearing.

Watch for a full-length release this summer!

Ratings
Satriani: 5/10
Zappa: 6/10
Dylan: 5/10
Aretha: 8/10
Overall: 6/10

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