“We’re on the cusp of something we’ve been working toward for a decade.”
April + VISTA—April George and Matthew Thompson—have been building toward this moment for years. Now, with their debut album Traditional Noise just released via Third & Hayden, the D.C.–rooted duo step into a new phase with songs that move between soul, alt-pop, rock, electronic, and R&B without settling in one place for long. Led by “Standing in Place,” and following earlier singles like “Bless My Heart,” “Love Unspent,” and “Grotto,” the album reflects a band learning to embrace uncertainty—describing it as a “final goodbye to our past selves” and moving forward, as they put it, “doing it scared.” It’s a mindset that shapes both the music and the process, leaning into discomfort, experimentation, and change. That direction was formed in the Washington, D.C. underground and sharpened on tour with artists like Little Dragon, Mura Masa, and Little Simz. We caught up with April + VISTA as they step into this next phase.
IN CONVERSATION WITH APRIL + VISTA:
Thanks for doing this. To start, what feels the most different about this moment in your career compared to when you released Lanterns?
Matt: At that time, our local scene was the world and contributing to that scene meant a lot to me. It’s where we cut our teeth. We promoted Lanterns by texting all of our friends SoundCloud links and pitching to our favorite indie blogs. Our first shows were in DIY venues, some of which aren’t even around anymore.
As we prepare to release our debut album 10 years later, we’re privileged enough to have label support for the first time in our careers. Meetings over Five Guys on how to stand out in our scene are now “how to cut through the algorithm while still being ourselves.” I feel like we’re on the cusp of something we’ve been working toward for a decade, but the music industry, our creative community, the world have changed so much it trips me out at times.
April: All of the trials, tribulations, triumphs and failures that we’ve experienced over the past decade have helped us become better storytellers and to better understand who we are artistically. We’re still dedicated to experimentation and challenging ourselves by walking into unknown sonic territory, but we have so much more confidence in ourselves. We have a clear vantage now, our voice and sound are more refined. I think we’ve finally found our stride.
What inspired the name Traditional Noise?
Matt: After finishing our fourth EP Pit of My Dreams, we wanted to return to the music that brought us comfort growing up. For me, these are songs that I attach to traditions like family road trips, reunions, ritually listening to MTV as I got ready for school. It was really soothing, reconnecting with music in that way, but we still needed to reflect our current reality in the music somehow, hence Noise.
It’s also a tongue-in-cheek response to folks who thought Pit of My Dreams was too abrasive. Sure we can make something traditionally pleasant, but reality is noisy, and challenging. We can’t separate that reality from our art.
How did the partnership with Third & Hayden come together?
Matt: A close friend of ours shared our music with Kei Henderson, Founder of T+H. About a month later, we found ourselves in an Atlanta studio playing the album for Kei and connecting over mutual tastes and shared experiences. Kei understood us immediately. The rest is history.
If there’s one idea or feeling you hope cuts through in your lyrics, what is it?
April: Every song on this record came from my personal journal entries. While we were writing the album, I became obsessed with the idea of documentation and how the art we make leaves a record of our existence on Earth. It’s one of the reasons why we photographed a fossil for the album cover, I very much felt like a fly in amber. I had to get comfortable with being vulnerable as I journeyed through an intense period of healing; healing my inner child, healing deep wounds that I had yet to address in adulthood, etc. I found myself looking for genuine connection - if someone else were going through the trials I’m navigating, how would I help them? What could I say to connect? My goal was to use themes like nostalgia, tradition, and memory to discuss heavy topics like depression, racism, and the oppressive nature of capitalism, without sounding preachy. I want people who are hurting and struggling to know that they’re not alone. I want them to hear my stories and maybe find a pathway to healing themselves.
“Standing in Place” is beautiful — it honestly stopped us. You’ve described it as a kind of goodbye to past versions of yourselves. Do you think that kind of shift is something you choose, or something that happens naturally over time?
April: Thank you! When we were writing “Standing in Place,” we were learning how to navigate our career during a global pandemic and struggling to catch a break. The issues everyone in the music industry was facing felt extra magnified for us as DIY artists with few resources. In 2019, our ability to be physically present in certain spaces was the one thing that brought us consistent opportunities. The pandemic took that away, and our future was uncertain. I realized that the only way we were going to survive is if we let go of our imagined ideal, we were walking straight into the dark with no guidance, no candlelight. “Standing in Place” became the soundtrack to that realization; it's something we can all relate to. In order to step into who you are meant to be, you really do have to destroy your comfort zone. I believe that as time passes, we are all exposed to our own inflection points, we can’t really guarantee what the outcome will be, but we can choose to let go of our impulse to control the outcome in the first place.
On “Grotto,” you mentioned learning viola and guitar for the first time — what was that process like?
Matt: I’m still very much a beginner guitarist. Having spent the last few years learning bass, I was able to translate some of those skills to guitar but I approached the instrument as a producer rather than a performer. I comped a ton of takes, watched endless tutorials and relied on my ear to find the chords I needed. I’m taking structured lessons now though.
April: I started playing the violin when I was 9 years old, I gravitated to that instrument instantly and felt very connected to it at a young age. I continued playing solo and in various string ensembles and symphony orchestras up until adulthood, so I gained a lot of transferable skills. Picking up the viola felt like a natural next step for me. I’ve been composing for strings since I was 15, so I already knew the alto clef. I spent most of my time working on fingering techniques and getting my intonation down. I also had to learn it out of pure necessity, we couldn’t afford to work with a string ensemble for this album, so I had to play all of the violin and viola parts myself! I absolutely love how deep and resonant the viola sounds in comparison to the violin and I eventually want to start performing with her!
“Disorder is as beautiful as it is terrifying… doing it scared is the only way you will get to where you belong.”
Does the DMV ever appear tangibly in your songwriting?
April: It shows itself in spirit and ethos for sure. I grew up between Virginia Beach, VA and Portsmouth, VA; I moved to the DMV area in 2013, right after I graduated college. Even though I’m not a DMV native, the DMV DIY scene embraced me and taught me everything I know about perseverance, strength, grit, and confidence. These virtues show up in the way that I write and inform the warm, textural, multi-layered sounds that I gravitate to.
Matt: I always carry lessons I’ve learned from go-go bands like New Impressionz to pair heavy beats with soulful melodies. The core of my production is beatmaking, and local influences like Oddisee and Drew Dave will inevitably creep through. Otherwise, my experiences growing up in PG County color everything that I create.
What’s the biggest challenge you’re navigating right now — and what’s helping you push through it?
April: Our biggest challenge is balancing all of this with full-time jobs! We’ve been working 9-to-5s this whole time and it never gets easier; the more we accomplish musically, the harder it gets to manage our schedules. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to come up with believable excuses for PTO requests. Personally, my belief in the music and my support system have been helping me push through it; it is incredibly difficult to pursue music professionally, especially in the modern age where it seems like only those with access to wealth and nepotism succeed. Having unwavering support from my mom, sisters, family, and close friends helps me stay motivated to continue.
In a world that can feel increasingly artificial, what’s been feeling real to you?
Matt: We’re back into physical media. We just bought a record player last year and listen to records almost exclusively when we’re in the house. We also like cassette recording these days. We tune in to a lot of DJ sets and independent radio. Any way to engage with music that cuts out the grubby hands of big tech, even if it’s less convenient, feels real.
April: We’ve been very into print media as well. We’ve amassed a pretty decent collection of graphic novels, art books, and design books over the years and they’ve been fueling us with so much creative energy! My desk is currently taken over by tons of PLAZM magazines from the 90s, a copy of The Shifting Ground by Joe Walsh, the Malevolent MF DOOM comic by Matteo Mendoza, and my trusty copy of Masterplasty by James Harvey.
What’s something you’re proud of at this stage of the band?
Matt: I’m proud to still be here, 5 projects in, still excited about making music. Every project becomes our purpose for the year or so that we spend writing it. Somehow, after pouring so much into a body of work, we’re always able to find new purpose in the next project.
April: I’m proud of our tenacity and our ability to adapt in order to stay alive. We aren’t afraid to learn new things and to use our bare hands to create something meaningful, and we always find a way to make sh*t shake.
You’ve been building April + VISTA for over a decade — when did it start to feel like this version of the project really clicked?
Matt: I feel like it clicked the moment we released our first EP Lanterns. Regardless of that EP’s success, we knew we had something going and were ready to develop it. 2018’s You Are Here was a professional breakthrough that brought us support beyond our local community, so I consider that a second click.
“Standing in Place” touches on growth through uncertainty — was there anything you had to let go of to make this record?
April: I had to shed so many things in order to get comfortable with being so vulnerable and to come to the realization the lyrics describe. I shed the expectations of people who do not know where I’ve been, I shed the version of me that was clinging desperately to her comfort zone, I shed the expectations I had for where we’d be in our career at that time, I shed the impulse to try to control my fate. Just as a fly in amber finds a renewed purpose in death, so have I. The world as I knew it had to end to make room for new possibilities.
What’s something you’ve seen, read, or heard recently that’s stayed with you?
Matt: Not-so-recent, but I’m obsessed with Elis Regina & Antonio Carlos Jobim’s Elis & Tom album and how effortless the performances are. You can hear when they’re smiling as they sing. Compositions sound alive and intimate. I’d like to create something with that feeling one day.
April: I’ve been meditating heavily on a quote by James Baldwin that says: “Write a sentence as clean as bone.” It’s something that I write at the top of each lyric entry in my journal; I see it as a reminder to be intentional when I write, to be clear about what I am trying to say. Words are spells and we have to be careful with how we use them.
If someone’s discovering you for the first time, where should they start?
Matt: Gotta start with Lanterns and work your way up. If you can’t handle us at our “If Light Escapes,” you don’t deserve us at our “Standing in Place”!
April: I’d say start with “Grotto,” “Very Bad News,” “Standing in Place,” and “FOMO,” those are my personal favorite songs we’ve ever written.
What’s a lyric of yours that sums up how you feel right now?
April: “Reversal makes the vantage wide / All the dust, debris subsides / My words are few, my faith alive / I cast my sins into the tide”
Follow April + Vista on IG at @aprilandvista
Photos by Foster K. White
