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Larsen | Rever | Review
A curious monodrama with effective moments...
...Rever is actually the ultimate reality with equal parts abstract and relational. By any definition of the word this reclusive Italian band makes incredible music. Still the record can also seem overlong, overlayed and witless. Their sound at times is silent, whispers, drones or sustains short bursts of percussive chaos. NYC artist/producer Michael Gira recently flew to Torino to meet theband, at least in a manner of speaking. "I was never allowed to see them" said a stumped Gira. "The band played behind a screen in the recording studio.. They operate as some sort of hermetic cult/collective". On the fifty-minutes of Rever Roberto Maria Clemente, Paolo Dellapiana, Silvia Grosso, Fabrizio Palumbo and Marco Shiavo combine talents give the sound a perfect Pythagoras. Cymbals become quasi-divine and distorted guitars become generating entities. Philosophy 101 taught us Socratic theories always lead to the abstract, but are abstractions such as number and form capable of generating physical reality? Perhaps Larsen is actually some weird transmigration of soul from Charles Manson or early Yo La Tengo. "The material on this CD was recorded as one might execute a field recording" added Gira about making Rever. "The band would play a piece, sometimes for hours, over and over. I had the sense of eavesdropping on some kind of private ritual". Slightly sinister, the record presents itself smartly and brightly handled.