April Martin isn’t your average clinical psychologist. Quite apart from her booming practice in New York City, April is also a singer/songwriter, and her new album, ‘In The Blink Of A Life’ is definitely worth looking into.
Although April had been making up songs in her head for as long as she can remember, she hadn’t started writing them down until later in life, and brought out her first album in 2010. ‘Pennies In A Jar’ gained her more than 10,000 fans worldwide, who’ve heard her music on internet radio. Now she’s released her new album, ‘In The Blink Of A Life’, and takes her exploration of the human heart – done with tenderness, humour, and passion – to greater depths of reflection and maturity.
Speaking about her work, April says,
“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.”
April’s track, ‘Heart Break Doesn’t Come’, is a waltz-style track with slightly humorous lyrics, accompanied by a steady drum and backed very simply with electric guitar. The song is sung from the perspective of a woman who is prepared to put up with the failings of her parter – “Heartbreak doesn’t come from loving me.” It’s a laid-back song which encourages repeated listenings.
‘In The Blink Of A Life’ was released on December 7 and will appeal to fans of Loretta Lynn, and Roseanne Cash, with April’s folk-country stylings.
Find April Martin online on her official website, Facebook, and Soundcloud. You can buy ‘In The Blink Of A Life’ from her website, and CD Baby.