APRE - Always In My Head (Review)

APRE return with a project double the normal length, but with the half the usual intrigue....

6th November 2020

Beach91 / Universal

My Rating:

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4.4

/10

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REVIEW

I've been a fan of APRE from right about the start of their career, always curious to hear what they had to offer with a succession of EPs over the last two years. Whilst none of these releases blew me away, each offered at least one excellent song that I would revisit regularly, their consistently strong choruses the main appeal, as well as their often fantastic synth layers and the grooves they were able to build on. 

Recently however, with the duo moving away from their EP-centred release format in favour of singles, and approaching this, their first "mini-album", I've noticed something of a decline in their output. The best song to exemplify this downgrade would probably be "Your Heart's Like A Jungle", a single from earlier this year that was far and away the best produced, most clean song they'd put out, but a song with nothing remotely interesting going on and no reason for me to return. 

I had hoped that this wouldn't be the route they chose to pursue, but with this album that's exactly what they've done, and there is nowhere the consequences of this decision are more notable than on the new version of their older song "Without Your Love", a track that's always drawn me in with its unusual vocal chops, strong groove and fun chorus. Now, whilst these things all remain, this revised version is in my opinion weaker than the original, the hyperclean production sterilising the song, stripping it of what made it unique and instead resulting in a generic indie pop song that doesn't captivate me whatsoever. 

The only song that I find myself enjoying to the level of their previous works is "Live It Up", by far the catchiest song here and also the most derivative of pop music's 80s obsession, shimmering synths and stuttering drums creating a gorgeous immitation of the style, even whilst the lyrics are among the weakest in the band's discography. Now, APRE have always been somewhat vague and ambiguous in their writing, but they take that to a new level of mediocrity on this album, another aspect that weighs things down, preventing me from connecting to the album on an emotional level. 

Overall, this is clearly a disappointing entry into APRE's career, and I sincerely hope that they manage to improve with the full length album they've promised for next year. As far as a taster for what's coming, I must admit I no longer feel engaged or interested, and if they want to win back my attention they'll have to establish an identity for themselves, seeing as they've lost the one they had.

TRACK RATINGS (/10)

1. Bad Boys - 7

2. I Know I'll Find It - 5

3. Without Your Love - 4

4. Hello - 6

5. Live It Up - 8

6. Always In My Head - 4

7. Is That Really What You Live For? - 3

8. Grab My Hand - 5

BREAKDOWN

Ambition: 3

Atmosphere: 7

Catchiness/Enjoyability: 5

Content/Ideas: 2

Emotion/Engaging: 3

Execution: 4

Production: 5

Structure: 5

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Lyrics: 3

Vocals/Flows: 7

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Total: 44

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