april june Cracks Her Heart Open on Dreamy Sophomore EP 'baby's out of luck again'

april june takes us track-by-track through her sophomore EP ‘baby’s out of luck again’ – an intimate and all-consuming alt-pop dreamland.

for fans of Lana Del Rey, Victoria Bigelow, Sea Lemon, Bathe Alone

Stream: “baby’s out of luck again” – april june

april june’s music is the stuff of dreams.

It’s hard to put into words why this is the case, but one listen to her sophomore EP, and you’re up, floating on the clouds. Maybe it’s the soft tones of her seductive voice – intimate, up-close and personal, set against an enchanting world of atmospheric, ethereal synths, lush, glistening guitars, and pulsing, hypnotic drums. Perhaps it also has to do with her abstract, evocative lyrics – born of vulnerable moments lived and imagined, and vivid enough to whisk listeners out of their lives and into a fantasy.

Whatever the ultimate reason for this association between music and dreams, april june has tapped something special, and the end result is as captivating as it is all-consuming: Inspired by film, memory, grief, and growth, the seven-track baby’s out of luck again is a moody, brooding alt-pop reverie.

baby's out of luck again - april june — baby’s out of luck again – april june

Your friend found another flatmate
Won’t try, you’re not gonna be there
Get drunk collapsing at your doorstep
Good luck never gonna get there

Tried so hard
Baby’s out of luck again
Right here smoking on the balcony
Sometimes pass by your house
Out of luck
Baby’s out of luck again

– “baby’s out of luck again,” april june

Released August 2, 2024 via Nettwerk Music Group, baby’s out of luck again is an immersive, expansive, impassioned escape. Arriving four long years after april june’s aptly-titled debut EP feelings on the internet – which she released while studying film at Bard College in New York – the artist’s sophomore extended player offers a spellbinding longform reintroduction to singer, songwriter, and producer Victoria Zolotukhina.

Speaking to Atwood Magazine, Zolotukhina explains how she landed on her artist name. I’m a huge Eric Rohmer fan,” she smiles. “He has four movies that are based on the four seasons. I have this tradition: Whenever a new season rolls around, I re-watch the corresponding movie. Right now, it’s summer, so it’s time to watch Conte d’été (1996). When I was coming up with the name for my music, I thought about what kind of music I make. The answer that came to mind was that I feel most inspired by the period between April and June. It’s when you come out of the slumber of winter and get excited about the real spring, and then the summer, of course. It’s very much about the feeling. The name isn’t that deep; it’s more about capturing that transitional period and the emotions it brings.”

Now based in Madrid, Zolotukhina has spent the years since her 2020 debut honing her definitively dreamlike sound whilst refining her voice. The result is as much an emotional escape as it is a sonic indulgence – one fueled by a rich mix of acoustic and electronic instrumentation, the artist’s own intoxicating voice, and the emotions driving that voice forward.

“Thematically, this album is about me processing moving cities and losing some special relationships, re-evaluating certain connections, and feeling nostalgic about moments that defined my time in the old city where I lived before moving to a new place,” Zolotukhina tells Atwood Magazine. “It’s about looking back on past loves, failures, glimpses of hope, moments of despair, and trying to make sense of it all.”

She began with a blank notebook, into which she jotted down any ideas that could potentially inspire and move her. “This includes little personal stories, diary entries, places I’ve been that stuck with me, maps, poetry, lyrics, drawings, facts, film quotes, texts, etc.,” she recalls. “I try to fill the notebook with the essence of what I want the songs to be about, or at least the entry points. In the end, you deviate and find other things while you’re recording, but I like the idea of journaling as the beginning of the album. It’s a way to capture that initial spark of inspiration and let it grow organically.”

“This record feels more like ‘me,’” she smiles from the other side. “I finally set up a small studio, decorated it exactly how I wanted, and got all the instruments I needed. I think you can hear that all the songs have sort of the same cadence — it’s because they were all created here, in this new space that I’m learning to love and improve.”

**Zolotukhina candidly calls baby’s out of luck again a record of denial, anger, and acceptance.**

“The name is a bit of a self-deprecating pep talk,” she explains. “It’s like acknowledging the emotional problems you’re experiencing while also telling yourself that it’s not that serious.”

The journey from “baby’s out of luck again” – the EP’s achingly emotive, entrancing, and stirringly sweet opening number – to the dramatic and altogether spellbinding finale “carry you on my broken wings” is as warm and wondrous as it is shiver-inducing. Beyond these two brooding bookends, further highlights include the tantalizing, emotionally charged “pretty like a rockstar,” the haunting “sweeter than drugs,” and the infatuated confessional “starstruck,” the latter of which is also home to some of april june’s most vulnerable lyrics:

Won’t you take me to your hotel room
Would you pick me if you had to choose
Will you take me to the lover’s bridge
Hold me close don’t let me go
Spin me round I’m feeling ya

Can’t help it if I’m addicted to you
Can’t take my eyes off you
When you sing on stage
I stare at you all starry-eyed

Starstruck,
all my baby wants to do is go party
And make out in the backseat
Lovesick, did I tell you
I’m in love with your body
And the way you move me
And if it’s not with you, I don’t wanna go
No if it’s not with you, I don’t wanna go…

Zolotukhina cites “starstruck” as her favorite song off the new collection. “It was my first ballad and quite different in terms of production from what I usually go for,” she says. “It’s very stripped down, and it’s fun to sing. To me, it sounds like a low-key sad karaoke song you sing at a dusty small-town bar when you’re heartbroken. I’m also very happy to have worked again with Bernardo Martins, who typically handles my mixing and mastering. It was a pleasure collaborating with Taylor of Teenage Priest, who mixed three of the songs, and I also had the opportunity to work with the Spanish musician and producer Masuno on ‘emotional problems.’”

Whereas she doesn’t consider herself a lyrically forward artist, Zolotukhina allows that this is her most mature songwriting to date. “I usually start songs by coming up with a chord progression I like while humming different kinds of melodies, and the lyrics appear much later,” she explains. “I’m very happy with the line from ‘pretty like a rockstar,’ though. It goes, ‘OMG, you’re so athletic, perfect muscle tone, that’s why I love you.’ I found it in my iPhone notes and was like, I gotta use this in a song.”

This music may have come from the gut, but the overall record is nothing short of an intimate alt-pop dreamland.

“I hope these songs resonate with them on an emotional level, becoming part of their secret summer or fall playlists, like a time capsule of memories,” Zolotukhina shares.

Experience the full record via our below stream, and peek inside april june’s baby’s out of luck again EP with Atwood Magazine as Victoria Zolotukhina takes us track-by-track through the music and lyrics of her sophomore EP!

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:: stream/purchase baby’s out of luck again here ::

:: connect with april june here ::

Stream: ‘baby’s out of luck again’ – april june

:: Inside baby’s out of luck again ::

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baby’s out of luck again

Immersed in a year-long binge of ‘The Sopranos,’ I find the show to be a profound exploration of human psychology, subconsciousness, and cultural symbolism. One particular episode, where Tony engages in peyote-fueled gambling in Las Vegas, particularly stands out. The series, with its intricate layers, serves as a universal encyclopedia. Reflecting on a Reddit quote about the roulette wheel’s symbolic nature, it sparks contemplation on life’s unpredictability. This insight challenges the notion of ‘making your own luck,’ urging acceptance of fate and embracing the inevitable. It prompts introspection on the attraction to detrimental relationships, questioning if behavioral patterns are a metaphor for destiny. The cosmic order is pondered, wondering if repeating patterns aligns with universal design. The connection between individuals, like a Sagi and Virgo, raises questions about destiny’s role in their meeting.

starstruck

Main inspo was the last lines from ‘True Romance’: Alabama: “Amid the chaos of that day, when all I could hear was the thunder of gunshots, and all I could smell was the violence in the air, I look back and am amazed that my thoughts were so clear and true, that three words went through my mind endlessly, repeating themselves like a broken record: You’re so cool, you’re so cool, you’re so cool.” Also: Pamela des barres’ memoirs and Eve Babitz’s books (Black Swans, Slow Days, Fast Company, Eve’s Hollywood).

it’s all my fault

This synth-heavy gothic love ballad delves deep into themes of deception, the hidden origins of desire, romantic dependence, and the intricate relationship between reality and the intoxicating visions that arise when one grapples with an attraction they know to be spiritually detrimental.

emotional problems

I’ve always been a fan of songs that strike a balance between emotional depth and humor. I love a well-placed goofy line that sticks in your head. I also like the idea of blending the theme of heartbreak with the levity of language. I’m especially drawn to the line ‘he’s a little dumb, but I fell in love’. I think it was one of the first lines I started to build the song around. I’d say charli xcx and Bladee were inspirations for this song.

pretty like a rockstar

This song is inspired by the “Pamela, a love story” Hulu documentary about her life, her turbulent relationship with her ex-husband and how she perceives romantic relationships.

sweeter than drugs

Influenced by films like ‘True Romance,’ ‘Virgin Suicides,’ and ‘Wild at Heart.’ Thematically, I was inspired by the subject of adolescent all-consuming love, volcanic eruption of passion, intense desire, dependency on a strong masculine figure, and the defiance against the mainstream idea of “all-or-nothing” love being toxic.

carry you on my broken wings

Stepping into the seductive underworld of Italian gangster movies, “carry you on my broken wings” tells a tale of passion, danger, and untamed desire. Set against the backdrop of “The Sopranos” and “The Goodfellas,” this song is an exploration of the tumultuous relationship between the protagonist and her dangerous male counterpart. Clad in a tuxedo, he exudes a sexy, enigmatic allure, navigating the shadows with one hand on her thigh and the other on a gun. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of a life where violence and the death drive intertwine, creating a thrilling dance between pleasure and peril. As she carries the weight of her partner on her broken wings, the song becomes a haunting ode to a love that is as sexy as it is wild.

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