April Afternoon – Grim Reaper (2025)
April Afternoon’s latest release, ‘Grim Reaper’, is a brooding, synth-laced dive into mortality, anchored by a cross-continental collaboration that brings new gravity to the Amsterdam artist’s sound. Featuring American darkwave collaborators Pain in the Yeahs (PITY) from Virginia and Chronic Dream from Los Angeles, this track is as much an atmosphere as it is a song; a nocturnal meditation on death, illness, and the desire to transcend them.
Opening with layered analogue synths and a beat that pulses like a dying heart, ‘Grim Reaper’ sets a sombre, cinematic tone that immediately evokes early ’80s goth and new wave; think The Cure’s Faith era with the textural sensibility of Depeche Mode’s darker catalogue. Jelmer Luimstra of April Afternoon delivers his vocals with a detached, almost ghostly restraint, which complements the subject matter without veering into melodrama. His lyrics read like fragments from a fever dream: abstract, personal, and unsettlingly familiar.
Chronic Dream, the LA-based producer behind the main instrumentation, brings a rich, analogue warmth to the track, grounding the composition in hazy nostalgia. Their ongoing project, The Communicator Chronicles, seeks to create sonic dialogues with goth and darkwave artists, and ‘Grim Reaper’ feels like one of the more intimate entries, a whispered conversation between strangers bonded by existential dread. The final production touches by PITY add a layer of finesse, with ghostly textures and perfectly balanced reverb that evoke a dream collapsing in on itself.
Though rooted in genre tradition, ‘Grim Reaper’ is far from derivative. It’s a compelling reminder that synth-pop and darkwave aren’t just retro revival and they’re living, breathing genres still capable of emotional resonance and innovation. This is not a single that aims for the charts; it aims for the heart, or what’s left of it after the reaper passes by. In a world increasingly afraid to talk about death, April Afternoon and his collaborators stare it down with beauty and synths.
Many thanks to April Afternoon for speaking with us. Find out more about April Afternoon on Instagram and Spotify.
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