Last Days Of April

Ascend to the Stars (Bad Taste)
by Tim Den

Goooooooodamn this band moves me. I ain’t being melodramatic here: Last Days Of April are single-handedly keeping the faith alive that Jimmy Eat World’s Clarity is not the only emo album in the world that can shake you from the foundations up. Not that they need to repeat themselves: Last year’s Angel Youth stunned me like a drink in the face, questioning my theory that “all emo albums after Clarity suck.” And now they’ve done it again with Ascend to the Stars, an album that leans more toward Wheat than emo (all for the better) yet never losing its grip on your tear ducts.

Right off the bat, the tormenting melodies pour out effortlessly yet painfully, shredding your defenses with luscious whispers and pleas that seem to dictate your every inner demon. The songs go straight to your heart and your subconscious, where past traumas come alive and jerk you right back to the sorrow. This band seems to know exactly which notes to play in order to make you fall to your knees. Personally, it’s almost impossible for me to listen to this band without getting that “butterflies in the stomach, barrel of vinegar in the chest” feeling, and I’m not the squeamish type.

I can dissect the instrumentation all day long, but it would never do the band justice. It’s not about the physical make-up of the songs, it’s the songs themselves. The way they patiently gnaw at you with loving care, tugging at your memory until you cave in. Last Days Of April are the last emo band that matters.
(www.badtasterecords.se)