In Cinerama

Album review

For someone who has made as many great albums as April March, she'd have to do something special for one to be considered her best work. Enter 2021's In Cinerama. Working with producer Mehdi Zannad (of Fugu fame), she called in guests from her illustrious past like Andy Paley, Petra & Rachel Haden, and Danny Frankel, as well as new collaborators legendary drummer Tony Allen and vocalists Lola Kirke, Bennet Rogers, and Marilyn Rovell Wilson. The cast is joined by a crack band of musicians and together they've concocted a sound unlike anything March has done before. There are songs bolstered by horns and strings that sound like a bouncier 5th Dimension ("Lift Off"), have a lovely Beach Boys-meet-soft-rock feel ("Californian Fall"), sway with a relaxed bossa nova mood ("Stand in the Sun"), get introspective in classic singer/songwriter style ("Elinor Blue"), and jangle sweetly like a track from a Belle and Sebastian album produced by Curt Boettcher ("Born"). Added to these tracks are a few that conjure up the early rock & pop leanings of March's earlier work, like the Del Shannon-quoting "Runaway" or the sweet as pie "Baby." Traces of French pop still linger here and there but the track where they come through the strongest is in the epic album-closer "Open Your Window, Romeo," but the vibes are far more "Ballad of Melody Nelson" than "Chick Habit." Zannad brings in dramatic strings, piercing guitars, rumbling percussion, swooning backing vocal harmonies, and Tony Allen's charismatic drumming, which acts almost like a second lead vocalist as his fills answer and build upon March's powerfully emotional singing. His drumming is one of the major things that set this album apart in her oeuvre; he brings some non-Western rhythms to tracks like "Rolla Rolla" and "Stand in the Sun" that March, ever the musical chameleon, is able to slide into like perfectly tailored jeans. Another thing that makes In Cinerama special are the backing vocals. March is surrounded by beautiful harmonies on every track; the Hadens sound predictably perfect, Kirke and Rogers aren't far behind, and when Zannad occasionally chimes in, it's heavenly. Having Marilyn Wilson sing on "California Fall" -- the most California song on the record -- is a brilliant stroke of casting too. All of this genre hopping and inspired playing would be a waste if March didn't hold up her end of the deal. No worries there as her vocals sound the most assured they ever have, and the songs are possibly the strongest batch she's collaborated on yet. There is an autobiographical feel to many of them and a slight trace of melancholy beneath all the sunny surfaces that gives them a welcome bit of emotional stickiness that makes the bubblegum last longer. From the sound to the performances, lyrics to melodies, arrangements to production, In Cinerama scores the highest marks possible and all these elements work together in perfect harmony to truly make it April March's masterpiece.

© Tim Sendra /TiVo