Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
April have returned with “April Story“, which sees them ditching the baby concept and emulating G-Friend to impressive effect.
If this reminded you in some ways of G-Friend, you aren’t alone, but if there was a group to emulate from the last year then G-Friend was probably the best pick for a group like April. Considering what they released before this switch in musical concept, “April Story” was quite the shocking development and it’s one that sees them legitimizing their musical chops.
With a whimsical yet epic sound that’s enhanced by the string elements in the instrumental, “April Story” has a breadth to it that surprised me. It’s paced briskly, which prevents it from bogging down into a bore, and the verses serve as more than just a build to the chorus, instead actually possessing their own interesting push-pull elements with the vocals. Still, the verses do build up nicely to the promise of an epic chorus, and April manage to deliver on that promise with a vocal explosion that climbs a mountain. Perhaps even better than all that is the timing of the instrumental comedown from chorus that immediately segues back into a verse over a bare bones instrumental that allows us to get a reprieve from all the belting. Hell, even the bridge comes in at the right time after the second chorus to switch things up and keep us on our toes but also never sounding disjointed or a mess.
“April Story” is just a well-composed track and it goes from successful element to successful element without becoming overwhelmingly busy. It avoids repetition, but doesn’t do it in a jarring way as the transitions are smooth and seamless. This construction also enhances its replayability and it’s only gotten better as I’ve listened to it multiple times as I was still finding new elements I enjoyed. It’s a surprise coming from April all of a sudden, yes, but it’s also undeniably quality.
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My main problem with the video is that it lacks Sawori. Where the fuck is Sawori, huh? DSP Media, where the fuck is Sawori? Dammit.
That’s sort of the only complaint, as Chaekyung has only been in April from two months and has already saved their careers from what she’s learned from ‘God Of Music‘ and CIVA.
Now it’s time to create scandals for that media play.
I mean, this hair is what they did to her as punishment.
Seriously though, the concept of them as six dancing dolls, paired with the impressive-looking (modern dance? ballet?) choreography was a nice touch, and was also another way in which this effort reminded me of G-Friend with their more-demanding-than-you-think efforts.
It also managed to fit into the atmosphere the sound created, which provided the viewer with a complete package.
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Honestly? I kind of don’t know what to say. It’s flat-out shocking that April has gone from “Dream Candy“, “Muah!“, “Snowman“, and “Tinker Bell” — like you don’t even need to listen to those songs to know what they are like — to now this wonderful effort in “April Story”. Certainly this is a vastly superior path they’re setting down now, and one just has to hope they keep at it because they deserve a successful comeback with this.
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‘Prelude Album’
“April Story” Song
