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Solo producer and songwriter, Angie Aparo’s new album “Life Is a Flower, Life Is a Gun” improves his repertoire as well as folk as a genre.
If Angie Aparo’s second solo studio album proves anything, it’s that autotune and harmonica can sound good together and fit like puzzle pieces.
Released on Feb. 2, “Life Is a Flower, Life Is a Gun” is the riskiest folk album produced over the last 10 years.
Aparo’s voice sounds like a lovely blend of Cat Stevens and Paul Simon. While singing, they have an air-like presence with the rest of the production, but when chanted stand out and take center stage. His voice alone sounds fantastic, but he doesn’t stop there to make this album his own sound.
Aparo sets himself apart with his use of auto-tune. The effect is used tastefully and mimics Kanye West’s “808s & Heartbreak” and at some points even Daft Punk’s “Random Access Memories”. While “Life Is a Flower, Life Is a Gun” is similar to both, Aparo makes it unique with his folk instrumentation.
“Life Is a Flower, Life Is a Gun” was created during Aparo’s stroke and divorce. Both experiences influence not only the sound but also its content. The divorce manifests his heartache which pushes its way to the surface of songs like “Sylvia Plath,” “The Square Boy,” “The Science of Goodbye” and “Little Black Dress.”
Aparo’s stroke took him to death’s door and led to reflection throughout the album. Nostalgia is deep with this album with songs like “Bicycle Kings” as he looks back on his childhood and “WTF” as he looks how much the world has changed. His stroke also lead to his incorporation of Apple’s computer-generated voice, Siri. The use of Siri not only sounds amazing on “Life Is a Flower, Life Is a Gun” but also helped Aparo overcome his aphasia by reading the words aloud he could not.
This album shows huge development not only in Aparo’s previous sounds but in folk as a whole genre. Aparo introduces many new electronic sounds into a typically acoustic genre with ease and really pushes the envelope on what folk can be.
This revolution of sound is even more amazing looking at his discography alone. The change from Aparo’s last album “The American” to “Life Is a Flower, Life Is a Gun” is beyond just the natural evolution of sound artists typically take. The two albums are so different, it would be hard to tell they were from the same artist.
Listeners who were already a fan of folk or Aparo will have their world rocked with its visionary approach, and those that have been on the fence about either should give this album a listen because it won’t sound like any folk they have ever heard before. This albums unique sound truly carries it and Aparo’s mastery of folk song-writing takes it stratospheric heights.
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