Vrijheid Records专辑首发的推介文
April Rain，这支很少在公众场合露面且鲜有演出的“社恐型”俄罗斯后摇乐队，凭借自身在传统器乐摇滚风格上的精湛造诣，以及其音乐在广大乐迷心中激起的长久共鸣，很早便跻身进了后摇世界名人堂的中坚一席。从成立之初至今，十余载时光，乐队创作过多张精彩纷呈、备受佳评的全长专辑和EP，而今年，乐队以近乎低调无声的姿态发行了全新专辑《Undertone》。
若有人先一步留意到《Undertone》，或许首先闯入感官的，不是那一如既往令人心驰的音乐，而是别出新意的专辑封面。以不同角度呈现的少女面部的方格相片，被模糊化成了一种唯美、迷离而忧郁的构象。封面宛如清浅的引子一般，即将引出专辑中的每一首既恪守传统后摇曲风又呈现新情境与意识流的歌曲，继而把这些曲调引入听众内心，把众人在思潮和情感上的化学反应引燃。
《Undertone》的八首曲，形成了一片54分钟的起伏跌宕的器乐音海。大体上，每首曲遵循着后摇常规的由浅至深、由静至烈的渐变模式，从轻柔的音符奇点出发，缓缓过渡成萦回的旋律，层层推进，直抵最终的一场冲刷心灵的风暴。在如此的编曲架构之上，器乐的演绎又是灵动自如的，不同质感的音线、意味各异的音段，在娴熟地互换、叠合，共同演变，为每首曲赋予了浓郁的色彩和深彻的概念，也让绵延的情愫和深繁的意识在通篇专辑中涌动流淌。
April Rain并不过度使用合成器修饰，他们更讲究乐器本身的色泽，你可以认为他们的音乐是平面化的，然而真正立体的部分在于音乐和听众意识、情绪、情感之间的接合与碰撞。一场温婉而忧伤的触抚记忆的梦境、一道刺透黑暗去慰藉伤口的亮光、一片游移在痛楚与自省之上的思忖、一段行进于黑暗与风澜之中的意志，这些扎根在《Undertone》里的意象和感知，在音景间，在心间，在两者的连线间，比比皆是。听众一次次被抚慰，又一次次被击打，反复游驰在这片痛苦与绚烂交织的音海里。
此外，April Rain的高潮段落并不似其他众多后摇乐队的纯靠力量和噪音的轰炸，他们始终保持着清晰而固实的旋律线，坚守着独属于己的那份内敛与柔软。以及出现在第七首曲中的人声，呢喃伤楚的吐词和高亢悲绝的呐喊，与悲怆的急速旋律并进，释放出一种巨大的与自我暗面斗争、冲破现实桎梏的精神属性。
如果我们要揣摩创作者自身通过音乐想阐述的概念、表达的内容，那么歌名一如既往算是一种线索。当然，这并不是重要的事，《哈姆雷特》诞生之时，就在一千个人眼里形成了一千种模样。更重要的是，遵从我们的内心去感受音乐，无论它带我们去的地方有多遥远、有多陌生。
恰在近期，迷笛别出心裁地在浙江湖州举办了以后摇为主题的Offside音乐节（2023.11.04-05），阵容包括六支猛流涌动的国内乐队和四支声名响彻的国外团体，April Rain便是其中之一，这也是他们首次来华演出。音乐节第二日的黄昏时分，燥热的天空落起了细雨，April Rain就在这种令人心沸的环境中登上了舞台，让他们的声音从唱片、从音响里脱缰出来，直面激情的观众，肆意回荡在广阔的天空下。
演出结束后，April Rain进行了乐队的签售活动，而Vrijheid Records（惟音社）在音乐节现场专门提供了April Rain唱片的出售，除了惟音社已发行的三套以往作品的黑胶，还令人喜出望外地包括了新专辑《Undertone》的CD和彩胶，而这正是这张专辑的实体全球首发。此刻，《Undertone》的线上实体销售也正式开启。
对于喜欢后摇的人来说，遇到一张心仪的新专辑，就仿佛在生活某个节点上遇到了一个新的意义，那么出乎意料，又那么弥足珍贵。
【以下是简化版的英文推介文】
April Rain, a "social phobia-ish" Russian Post-Rock band that rarely appears in public, has occupied a seat of Post-Rock world's Hall of Fame for a long time due to its exquisite expertise in traditional instrumental rock style and the long-lasting resonance its music has aroused among fans. This year, the band released a new album "Undertone" in an almost secretive and silent manner.
The eight songs of "Undertone" form a 54 minute undulating sea of instrumental music. Generally speaking, each song follows a gradual pattern of Post-Rock that is from shallow to deep, and from calm to intense, starting from the singularity of a gentle note, slowly transitioning into a lingering melody, advancing layer by layer, and reaching the final storm that washes the soul. Based on such arrangement structure, the interpretation of instrumental music is flexible and smooth. Different texture lines and various meaningful segments are skillfully exchanged, overlapped, and evolved together, endowing each song with rich colors and profound concepts, and allowing the continuous emotions and deep consciousness to flow throughout the entire album.
Perhaps music is like a planum, but the truly three-dimensional part is the connection and collision between the sound and the listener's consciousness, moods and emotions. A gentle and melancholic dream that touches memories, a bright light that penetrates the darkness to comfort wounds, a contemplation that wanders over pain and introspection, a will that marches through darkness and storm, these images and perceptions rooted in "Undertone" are everywhere in the sound, in one's heart, and in the connection between the two. The listener was comforted and beaten time and time again, swimming repeatedly in this sea of pain and brilliance.
At this moment, the online sales for CD and color Vinyl of "Undertone" have officially started. For those who like Post-Rock, encountering a beloved new album is like encountering a new meaning at a certain point in life, so unexpected and precious.
