CURRENT #8: APRIL- LALALILALA

Released: April 22nd, 2020

Fun fact: I still listen to their debut single Dream Candy every single year since its release in 2015, but only in December. Yep, I have it on my holiday playlist because of its Christmas-like hook sprinkled with bells and its catchy chorus that is one of my guilty pleasures, even though the song was released in August. Due to the group's relatively young age at the time of debut (the youngest member, Jinsol, was born in December 2001, making her debut at just the age of 13, can you believe it?!), the group has stuck with mainly cute concepts. The last time I heard from them was when their leader Somin left the group to join the co-ed group KARD (Somin was 19 when she debuted, you honestly can't blame her having to do a cute concept), and so the group hasn't really been on my radar since. Now that Jinsol is 18, I wanted to see what they have in store this time. Because it is the month of April, I was expecting something to feel a lot like who April is.

Nope, that went down the drain. Nearly. All you have to do is hear the first 5 seconds of the song to tell that it screams EDM. The teasing even goes far to already building-up to a beat drop, before saying its not worth it and easing itself for the intro. Everything up to the chorus is typical of what you hear in this genre, with a huge distinction between the verse and the build-up. At a duration of just 32 seconds, the verse and build-up does feel rushed, as I wish there was a a second part of the verse for us to saver the vocals that usually caters with near-inaudible instrumentals. The build-up introduces the familiar synths you hear in many common EDM tunes, but otherwise it doesn't have the same intensity as the one heard in the intro, because of how fast the rhythm is shifting here. Then we get to the chorus. Rather than go full-all-out drop with the synths and the beat, the music takes a step back and respectfully shifts the vocals into the main stoplight. The vocal melody features plenty of high notes along with the corresponding synths layered within the tune. It's unique and reminiscent of their past cute concept styles, but more importantly it's a huge departure from the way typical EDM drops are constructed. The post-chorus gracefully takes the song out of the chorus, but I am divided over the "Lalalilala" hook because of how distorted it sounds when it doesn't seem necessary. The second verse features the use of guitar which is a nice feature but doesn't save the part from its lack of fiery sparks. The bridge takes on a different EDM beat, before ramping the original back up halfway through the chorus. I did not like that beat used here, as it sounds like the girls are singing a completely different melody. I would have loved to hear more of their vocal performances here, where it's just 8-bit chords and their singing, before kicking back in the synths.

EDM continues to be king in this era, and I welcome APRIL in putting their own twist into this genre. Despite the numerous criticisms I have, I really enjoyed the song and particularly the chorus. Thank goodness that APRIL did not fall for the trap where literally nothing happens in the chorus and the post-chorus vocals-wise. There has to be some retainment of energy once the chorus hits because that's what the chorus is all about. All of the song sections are oddly sewed, but the girls certainly have a bright future ahead as many of them are starting to enter their 20s.

RATING: 7.45/10