Growing up, I was drawn to the song “Crazy” by Patsy Cline. I didn’t know why then (now I’m aware that her vocals on that piece were raw, honest, and carried you on an emotional journey despite the track being less than two minutes in length), my dad and I would just bond over how much that song spoke to us.
In much the same way, April Martin’s music speaks in a similar way: her vocals carry you on an emotional journey of where her heart has been, and her music reminds all who listen to it of greats like Loretta Lynn, Rosanne Cash, and Gillian Welch.
Click the image below to hear In The Blink of Life in it’s entirety.
April Martin started her professional life as a Ph.D. in clinical
psychology and maintains a successful practice in New York City. Though
she made up songs in her head from as far back as she can remember, she
didn’t begin writing them down until later in life.
Her first album, Pennies in a Jar, was released in 2010, and garnered
more than 10,000 fans worldwide on Internet radio. This album, In the
Blink of a Life, takes her exploration of the human heart – which is
done with tenderness, humor, and passion, to greater depths of
reflection and maturity.
On her work on this album and as a musician as a whole, April explains:
“When I was a child in the 1950’s you could
get a song sheet for 5 cents at the corner candy store with the lyrics
to tunes on the Hit Parade. My dad, whose natural tenor voice was always
bursting into song, would give me a nickel each week when the new ones
came out. Together we learned songs like “Secret Love”, “How Much Is
That Doggie in the Window?”, and “Oh My Pa-Pa.” These were some of the
happiest moments of my childhood.
Those songs were my constant companions. I overheard my first grade
teacher complaining, “If that child doesn’t stop humming I will go
crazy.” I hummed the tunes and memorized the words, which spoke life’s
truths to my little heart. I knew for a fact that love is a many
splendored thing, that Davey Crockett was king of the wild frontier, and
that when you load sixteen tons all you get is another day older and
deeper in debt. My musical tastes may have broadened, but to this day
I’m drawn to the simplicity of a song that makes me laugh or cry or
wonder about something that rings deeply true.
Songwriting came to me half a lifetime later, after spending decades
immersed in the human condition as a psychologist and a parent of three
children. To my surprise I found myself humming tunes I’d never heard
before and giving voice to things that welled up in me.
With every song I write I’m grateful to the people who trust me with
their vulnerabilities and joys, to my children who made me understand
love as never before, and to my dad who brought those wonderful songs
into my young world.”
Song By Song review:
One Breath: This song speaks volumes about something we all forget and we need a major reminder of in today’s world. We only have now. We must take life one breath at a time. Favorite line “It’s all about now, the why, and the how. It’s all about love.”
Heart Break Doesn’t Come: My favorite song off the album solely because of it’s musicality about all hell breaking lose but the speaker saying blatantly “heart break doesn’t come from loving me.” The guitar breakdown adds a nice musicality to the track.
My Rock and My Rain: This song boasts lyrics that are practically songwriter perfection. A perfect to dedicate to your upcoming valentine.
While I’m Waiting: This song could have stayed an instrumental for it’s suspenseful musicality through the use of a rain-stick and various other percussion instruments.
Looking Back: Perfect song to play at someone’s memorial, it’s a perfect combination of soft music, lyrics that are tears of memory, and soft vocals.
Everday I Love You More: A beautiful love song with nice percussive musicality
Would You Let Me In: The flute adds a great musicality to this song about falling in love with someone who is grieving.
Sara’s Lullaby: Taking on the sound of Spanish folk music, this is a both a pleasure to listen to and a little bit of a style change for the artist.
All I’ve Got: Vocally, Martin reminds me of Karen Carpenter a little bit on this track folky love song.
One Part Truth, The Party’s In Full Swing, Life is Good, and Praise The Morning all boast of Martin’s country style as a singer-songwriter, both lyrically and musically.
In The Blink of A Life
April Martin
Rating: Four out of five cookies
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