North Carolina’s been in the news a lot lately, and our hearts go out to everyone in Asheville who are rebuilding after Hurricane Helene. Anecdotally, we also know some folks who sought sanctuary in nearby Raleigh, and we’ve learned that Raleigh’s also a refuge for one couple’s killer electronic collaboration.

We’re talking about Waking April, the classically-trained high school romance-turned-savant synth-pop pair. The duo’s been dropping tunes as Waking April for nearly a full decade now, but it wasn’t until the pandemic era that they really proved their firm footing in the Phantogram/CHVRCHES/Sylvan Esso corner of things, negating pretty much everything we’ve presumed around the “stereotypical” Raleigh sound. And that’s a legacy that’s only grown fuller with the release of Waking April’s debut full-length Fear of Failure that came out at the top of the month.

Mastered by Beyoncé/Olivia Rodrigo engineer Levi Seitz and flourishing with all kinds of exciting sounds (both live and synthesized), Fear of Failure spells nothing but mainstream success in our minds for the future of Waking April. The entire record’s an enthralling new chapter for the two-piece that covers plenty of moody, alternative dreamscapes, so if you want to dive headfirst into it, check out the workout-ready drum-and-synth-driven aggression on the second of FoF‘s eleven: “Rules”.

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