Album Review: April Maybe May - April Maybe May (Seahouse Records)

It's probably more relevant to re-name this duo 'August Possibly September' as we are thrown into the grasps of summer with eleven bright and breezy songs on April Maybe May's debut album. Formerly known as Fallen Leaves, Rosie Hillman and Matt Kassell have embarked on this latest musical journey with a handful of warm and delicate arrangements, recorded in the comfort of their home in Barrow in Furness on the coast of Cumbria. Seasalt provides a slice of pure escapism for those of us who have missed the warm season, complete with seagull sampling. 

Conceived as a basic two guitar acoustic duo album, with a clear emphasis on the songwriting skills of both Rosie and Matt, the subsequent addition of bass and drums and a range of delightful additional atmospheric instruments and sound effects, the emponymously titled debut creates an inescapable desire to dream along as the sounds flood over you like a cosy quilt.

Forced to change their name after discovering the punk band The Fallen Leaves, which would have been slightly disappointing for fans of both bands alike if the two were ever confused at the box office, the newly re-named April Maybe May, coined from Rosie's reply to questions about roughly when the album would be ready, fit neatly into the role of indie-folk-pop if indeed we must have a pigeon hole for them. 

Whilst Back To Me and the banjo-led Home, the banjo courtesy of Wes Martin, echoes such bands as The New Pornographers, with their instantly accessible pop charm, songs like Bed and Lost bring forth a much mellower soundscape to rest the duo's lyrics upon. Sugar and Mess has a brooding atmosphere which borders on melancholy, but is instantly reconciled with the jazzier Smile. Prefaced by some studio larking, The Girl Next Door provides the album with possibly the most radio friendly sound on the album, a breezy pop song destined for the open top car brigade this summer.    

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	April Maybe May April Maybe May Seahouse Records 2009-05-09