April Cope and the Willows

"April Cope's Petals Fall (is) a garden of delight..." - Pop Culture Madness

"This album has been out, but has not had proper distribution until now. With guest turns from Chuck Prophet, Pete Sears and Jim Campilongo she weaves her magic on some truly engaging songs. Fans of 'Wrecking Ball' era Emmylou will connect with this recording immediately". - Village Music (Jan 2008) - Village Music

Bay Area singer-songwriter April Cope draws comparisons to Emmylou Harris, but in a key way she’s like Macy Gray: Either you love her voice or it gives you the willies. So don’t buy Petals Fall on my say-so; go to www.aprilcope.com, listen for a few seconds and decide what you think of her nasal soprano. If you like it, then I’m pretty certain you’ll love her latest release. Petals Fall has nine songs—an odd number, in several senses, yet probably why they’re so even in quality. They sound … well, alt-country is as good a description as any. Cope’s music is kind of folky, kind of indie, a tad jazzy (particularly in the rich, lively instrumental passages that highlight the best tracks). The opener and closer—“This Garden” and “Move Any Mountains”—stuck with me after the first listen. “Falling,” “Secret Shepherd” and “Camera Obscura” took hold the next time, even though the latter sounds a bit forced. “Angel Under Barbed Wire,” “Black Wing”—good stuff, too. If Petals Fall does not turn April Cope into a household name it is less a tragedy for her than than the masses who would miss out. - Chico News Review 3/08

"She is certainly techinically gifted....country music, reminiscent of Dolly Parton..." - Valley Advocate

I’ve been trying to find box to put April Cope’s music in, but I just can’t seem to find one the right size. Or shape. Or depth. Just when I think I’ve got it figured out it makes a sharp right turn, or plunges headlong into a breathtaking freefall, or climbs up and over a hedge and escapes.

The best I can do is try to slap a label it. Call it, ‘Mysterious Country,’ and be done with it. But I’m afraid even that ambiguous label is destined to fall off, unable to adhere to the elusive and ephemeral nature of the music.

“This Garden,” the opening track of Ms. Cope's third cd, Petals Fall, slips in the back door before you realize a visitor has come to call. Gentle ebow bass and mandocello play hopscotch with an understated piano to embellish Ms. Cope’s delicate, pensive vocals. The tune itself is a parable of sorts; a metaphor for the male/female relationship that requires constant attention to keep weeds from strangling it. She gets a bit more melancholy on “Falling,” a ode to addictions and betrayal. Yet “Angel Under the Barbed Wire” takes on a sweetness belied by its title.

“Camera Obscura” returns to the murkier side of the human existence, relying on subtle rock underpinnings to generate the requisite tension. “Move Any Mountains,” a tender and heartfelt love song closes the project on a sweet, uplifting note.

April Cope writes with an enigmatic confidence, penning imagery that is at once obscure yet vaguely familiar, like a not quite remembered dream that floats just beyond your grasp. When you least expect it a random sound or scent conjures up all the emotions of that dream again. Petals Fall will have you listening again and again trying to put your finger on it.

-Mike Parker - Buddy Hollywood Magazine (3/27/08)

I was in my mid-twenties before I discovered that it was possible to listen to a song with pedal-steel guitar, fiddles, and drawn out vocals without suffering a severe bout of aural indigestion. The truth is that there's so much bad country music out there, that the masters of the form, the people who can present a song that is both within and yet deeper than the traditional boundaries, are hard to find.

For me, the pivotal moment, was hearing some tracks from Emmylou Harris. Young Asheville, North Carolina songwriter April Cope may well provide a similar pivotal moment for someone afflicted with the same prejudices, given that her second album, Petal Falls is crammed full of quality. Hardly surprising, given the presence of some veteran session musicians like Chuck Prophet, Pete Sears, and Jim Campilongo.

At the forefront of things, though, is April's voice - distinctive, full of character, and yet with echoes of the past. Everything, at the end of the day, hinges on her voice - a brave choice that sets her apart from the crowd.

When everything gels, as on Black Wing, this is beautiful music that transcends its genre, like a smile-inducing surprise. There are gentle touches taking the song into a timeless space that take the breath away.

At other times, though, there's perhaps too close an attention paid to the format, for example this garden, suggesting a keen commercial mind, that will ensure that Petal Falls gets radio-play, but also keeps it too rooted in the predictable.

On the whole, though, the album shows a developed and intriguing talent. - Three Monkeys Magazine

With subtle musical play on her Appalachian roots and an Emmylou Harris-like voice, April Cope sings heartfelt lyrics on Petals Fall. The compositions use open chords and Cope has a good band, but while some songs work, she needs more time to mature.

Mandocello, country piano licks, tenor banjo, mandolin and judicious accordion create a country-folk feel, and all the players know their stuff. Eric McFadden takes a crisp mandocello solo on “This Garden” and Dave Parnell’s electric guitar sounds great on “Move Mountains.”

The best songs are the ones closest to Cope’s North Carolina roots. In “Swinging Bridge,” a song about leaving her home behind, she’s standing on the swaying country bridge near a field of Black Eyed Susans, “dropping Susan’s yellow tears / Watching them sail into the glass.” Cope uses piano and accordion against her acoustic guitar, anchoring the tune with bass and frame drum. “Black Wing,” a bird whose “babies live in a dark nest,” is a metaphor for sorrow. With a cameo by singer Chuck Prophet, it has the foot-stomping lilt of good old country ballads.

“Angel Under Barbed Wire” is about a girl who helps failures and won’t let herself succeed. Opening with guitar harmonics, it adds an accordion that sounds like a junior B3 and pretty mandolin-electric guitar fills. Cope’s gentle voice makes for a good ironic counterpoint to the song’s straight-punch theme.

One thing’s for sure, April Cope is telling great stories of love, her man and the loss of innocence. Now she needs to listen to stories written by other people and keep on writing, so she can push her own work to the next level. (Self-released)

www.aprilcope.com

-Roanna Forman
- Performer Magazine

"Pop fans have found a lot to like with the luscious Cope and with her (third) disc, it's more of the same from the veteran performer; Lush arrangements, smooth singing, and a surprising rock edge on a few selections. Many of the tunes are winners including the opener This Garden, Falling and Black Wing." - Good Times Magazine - Good Times Magazine

"Pop fans have found a lot to like with the luscious Cope and with her (third) disc, it's more of the same from the veteran performer; Lush arrangements, smooth singing, and a surprising rock edge on a few selections. Many of the tunes are winners including the opener This Garden, Falling and Black Wing." - Good Times Magazine - Good Times Magazine