April Jai – ‘The Last Goodbye’ E.P. Released Friday
April Jai is a new up-and-coming artist from London who releases her new E.P. ‘The Last Goodbye’ this coming Friday. It’s always fantastic to feature a new artist on the site and it’s great to introduce April with a review of the ‘The Last Goodbye’.
The record opens with ‘Circle Back’. The song has a real interesting opening which grabs your attention straight away, immediately followed by a pleasant surprise when April’s vocals come in – she seems to sing with an ease which is just perfect for country music, expressing great emotion with an appealing gentleness and almost breathlessness. The song itself is about looking back to an earlier time in a relationship when things were different. For an opening track and an introduction to April, this is ideal.
‘Same Old Story’ is a relationship song, looking in from the outside. Lyrics include ‘A couple of months down the line, you’re arguing for the 1,000th time, same old story, it’s a different time’. I love the production of the song, the high point being in the last third of the song, when April sings the chorus stripped back, before the chorus is sang again with the band.
‘Rabbit Hole’ is a slightly more soulful number, which shows great versatility from April Jai. Below is an acoustic performance of the song. I’ve also mentioned how good April’s voice and clicking play on the video below will let you see for yourself. This song will grow and grow on you – certainly a highlight track.
The E.P. continues with ‘Out of My Bed’ and this sees another slightly soulful number. This track once again shows off April’s voice, where she sings her own harmonies mid-way through and really hits the high note to punctuate the ending. Lyrically it’s great too – one of those tracks that you zone into straight away and it doesn’t let go.
The title track ends the E.P. This is a gorgeous stripped back song about the end of a relationship. April has a way of story telling that involves the listener completely – the emotion in her voice is real, portraying those heartbreaking moments in life with a real authenticity. This final track leaves you wanting more.
‘The Last Goodbye’ is a delightful E.P. from start to finish. The combination of the great songwriting and April’s voice makes for a record that will be played again and again. Before listening to this E.P. I’d never heard a track from April Jai, but now I have, I’m already a firm fan. A fantastic debut.
