Archive for the an april march Category

The Whittingtons- The Whittingtons K7

Posted in 1980s, 1989, an april march, canadian, dreampop, indie, jangle on July 5, 2018 by Frankie Teardrop

I’ve been meaning to share this one for some time, and it’s certainly the season for some dreamy, jangly guitars. Here we have the lone tape by The Whittingtons, a band from Canada who would become An April March, shared previously here. I’d like to thank Danella, vocalist of both bands, who sent over a copy of this tape a few months back.

This particular cassette was released in 1989 and features the original lineup of An April March (including original drummer Joe Walsh, who would play on a handful of tracks on Impatiens). The six songs here are all exclusives, and a few of them, such as opening track “Sylvian,” and closing track “When the Sky Falls” especially point to the lush dream pop sound that An April March would encapsulate just a few years later. Others, like “Beatrice” and “Craving Wakes” are more firmly rooted in the jangle/indie/C86 sound, with a little bit of the folk vibes of bands like The Innocence Mission.

However, we all know the lines can get a bit blurred between shoegaze, dream pop, and indie pop, so hopefully there’s plenty to enjoy here for everyone. With that in mind, here’s the details:

The Whittingtons- The Whittingtons K7
1. Sylvian
2. Antiguos Muros (Sylvian Part II)
3. Beatrice
4. Craving Wakes
5. When the Sky Falls

*download it here*

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An April March- Memory Gardens & Scarlett Bliss K7s

Posted in 1990, 1990s, 1991, an april march, canadian, dreampop, shoegaze on April 4, 2017 by Frankie Teardrop

I remember the first time hearing Canadian dreampop band An April March. I was deep in my shoegaze phase in my freshman year of college, overdosing on Slowdive for the most part, posting on forums everywhere. I caught wind of this band and remember seeking out a lone mp3 of “Lava,” one of the bands early singles, on Audiogalaxy of all places… It was love at first listen. Just a few weeks later, I was digging in my college town’s record bins casually when I came across a gorgeous looking gothic cover. Sure enough, it was the Lava single, a red colored slab of perfection sitting there for a dollar, discarded among a bunch of sleeveless pop singles. I believe I posted the single in the very first year of this blog, as the obsession still ran deep.

Since then I’ve obtained all of their discography in various forms, with the exception of the elusive Scarlett Bliss demo tape from 1991, which I’ve always had my eye on. However, a kind collector by the name of Paul Evans offered to rip it for me, and included a bonus- a never before logged demo tape from 1990 called Memory Gardens, the band’s first official release. Funny enough, this is the real treat here, as the Scarlett Bliss tape features very similar (if not the same) recordings of these three tracks that would appear on 1993’s Impatiens, the band’s debut album.

However, the songs on Memory Gardens showcase a band just getting their feet wet, though the band’s trademark dark dreampop sound is still in full effect. Mostly I’m pleasantly surprised by the ample use of saxophone on this tape, a sound they abandoned after release, apparently. Saxophone player Ian would go on to play with The Dervishes, who I haven’t heard but sound like a more soul/funk band according to their discogs page.

Anywho, four of the six tracks on this cassette are exclusives, while “Gates Within Us” and “Of Leaves And Sweetness” are early versions that have since changed drastically in subsequent recordings.

Thanks again to Paul for ripping these! Hope you all enjoy them as much as I do:

An April March- Memory Gardens K7 (1990)
1. Justine
2. Misunderstanding
3. Of Leaves and Sweetness
4. Memory Gardens
5. Gates Within Us
6. Hollow House

An April March- Scarlett Bliss K7 (1991)
1. Scarlett Bliss
2. This Silence
3. Stains

*download both here*

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An April March- Lava 7”

Posted in 1990s, an april march, canadian, dreampop, shoegaze on October 12, 2007 by Frankie Teardrop

Finally! Fall weather! The most recent bout of New York rain has dropped temperatures considerably, and with the onset of autumn, I tend to dust off most of my shoegaze collection and listen to it obsessively. Don’t worry folks, I won’t be clogging up these pages with dreampop (unless you ask, of course), but to kick off the first proper week of autumn, I’ll toss one out.

Today’s band is An April March (not to be confused with ye-ye revivalist April March), a four piece unit hailing from Toronto, Canada. Formed in 1989, the band lasted a decade before splitting up, leaving behind a trail of 7” singles and 4 full length records. The band combined the dark-bass driven fury of post-punk with a budding shoegaze sound- swirls of guitar feedback and heavily chorused female vocals.

The band split in 1999 after a handful of parting gigs, and vocalist/guitarist Danella Hocevar and guitarist Christopher Perry soon formed the band rethotred.

Today’s tracks compromise their 1994 7” single for ‘Lava.’ The A-side also appears on their 1995 EP Instruments of Lust and Fury while the B-side was already released on their 1993 record Impatiens.

An April March- Lava 7”
1. Lava
2. Gates Within Us

*download it here*

There’s a video for “Lava” as well!

A  few of their cds, cassettes, and vinyl can still be found through various online outfits, they manage to fetch a hefty sum from those who are aware of their scarcity! Fortunately, yours truly managed to score the 7” single posted above for a mere buck back in my college days, so have hope if you’re a collector!

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