The Best Music of April 2016 is like the season itself, a transitional period that sees us shedding winter-like aggression in the form of a sunnier disposition. Many of the releases this month embody fury and tenderness; the lion and the lamb in a brief moment of harmony. Which is why our selections for the best of April are an amalgam of multiple personalities and redefined genres.
In this month of seasonal change we saw artists grow, more than one change their name, a few return from decade-plus long absences, and one who even saved himself. Thus it was fully appropriate to designate an artist whose ability to rediscover herself is paramount to her creative expression. The Best Music of April 2016 is never stagnant, always changing, with the promise of what’s next.
The Best Record of April 2016
Cate Le Bon, Crab Day (Drag City)
Welsh songwriter Cate Le Bon once said that she acquired her French surname from a “joke that went too far,” perhaps unwittingly foreshadowing the inventive use of language that distinguishes her consummate new album, Crab Day. As Le Bon explains in a conversation with Impose, the side-project proved reinvigorating. Crab Day is anchored by circuitous melodies and metaphors alike—the results of inhibitions shed, the mocking mouth of the sea, and the staggering power of nonsense.
I’m definitely a person who values my alone time. Last year I lost a dear friend and I started reading essays on solitude, which doesn’t mean loneliness; it means fostering meaningful relationships because you value your time spent alone so much that the time you spend with other people becomes special. In Los Angeles, I thought, ‘Oh now I’m in the city and I should be out and socializing all of the time.’ But it took me a while to realize that’s not the case, that wherever I am it’s important to tend to time with myself.
You can read the full interview with Cate Le Bon here.
Here are the rest of our favorites for April 2016, in no particular order.
