Larsen Lombriki
Free From Deceit Or Cunnings

I have to say I'm happy. Even if it's not something sensational, still I am. I listened to this record a long time ago (2005), and recently it came back to my ears. And a big smile was plastered on my face… . Well, but… . thinking about it… yes, it's sensational! I mean, it's sensational how every now and then (very rarely) a little group of unpretentious folks emerges from God knows where, deciding to make some canzuncelle to entertain people. But they also make a little bang. A small big bang. Underground, of course. Et voilà… … .

From "Blow up" of May 2005, Massimiliano Busti writes: "… It's been over 5 years now that the Larsen Lombriki have been crawling underneath the Roman music scene, if it were not for their very particular initiatives, such as the launch of new musical genres (sleep music or the incredible car rave music) in a series of improbable apartment festivals. Despite their history is becoming quite substantial, thanks to participation in numerous compilations and the release of the debut CD "Glad to be here", the group seems almost jealous of its clandestine identity, favoring the domestic dimension as the moment of maximum expression of its creativity. So here we are with the threatening twenty episodes that make up this recent "Free from deceit or cunnings" appear conceptually close to some essential productions of the age d'or of the new wave (Flying Lizard, Residents, Lemon Kittens … ) still linked to an analog imaginary populated by old electronic drums and dusty monophonic synths, perhaps used in the living room in some improvised home session. One breathes an air of great creative freedom, an obsessive search for melodies that are both simple and tangled, the celebration of deformity, a distinct parodic streak dispersed in a widespread dramatic sense."

Mmmmm… . In 1997 the Larsen Lombriki started the dance with their silly faces, taking care to cover them in photos with masks that concealed their precious identities. Now that I think about it, they remind me of someone who had made a brilliant "non-startable" record (on the market and perhaps also in the mind)… Anyway, from that moment our Lombriki (oh yes!) have unleashed, I believe with a certain tranquility and fun, a totally free music, with more or less complicated episodes, but all rich in inventiveness. The nice thing is that here the approach to music is the same I had as a child when I used the Casio organ and some other noisy gadget to record simultaneously on some broken recorder. In short, the smell you get is that of "homemade" music, made at home with friends, maybe with elemental recording techniques. But the ideas are there in spades, and the impact on the listener can initially just be of fun, but if you listen closely, I believe it becomes clear that you have something more interesting in your hands. No, perhaps it's more right to say: "precious". Yes, that's the right term. We're not talking about a masterpiece, although some tracks of this album really make me rejoice: maybe they're small things, but let me say it: How Beautiful! In Italy, another small piece has arrived to join that small group of artists who, after all, are trying. Here without particular pretensions of notoriety, as obviously it should be considered (who among you had heard of them?), but a breath of creative freedom is always a breath of creative freedom. And if this breath reminds me of my beloved Residents, a thousand times better. And so: to hell! with sales, let's just think about making the brain float in a silly and brilliant way. Bla Bla Bla…. .

I won't dwell on describing the music or the tracks on the record, I think a general overview might have emerged from this review. However, I can list all the artists that the Larsen Lombriki remind me of (I repeat, without reaching the pretensions and greatness of the following artists): Residents above all, Pere Ubu, Devo, Tom Waits, Jon Spencer, Flying Lizard, Tuxedomoon, Pop Group, and Zappa (he's always there, darn it Frank!… ). But I should mention too many others. It doesn't matter. Then reasoning in terms of musical genres, it would be stupid to define it some kind of dadaist new wave, better to use one of their joking definitions: "sub-avant-garde'n'roll". Because joking and devoid of snobbery is their approach to music, it's just about putting into notes (and noises) any anarchic instinct that pops into our heads. And if right now we're not yet at very high levels, as they say?! The boys will make it, in the meantime, we're having fun… …. . The only thing left for you to do now is to give a listen to these phantom canzuncelle. You will find many free downloads on their site www.larsenlombriki.it, both about this record and their previous one (perhaps less inspired, but still at good levels - try listening to "micro deutsche welle", you'll understand the meaning of the word "amateur" in Larsen Lombriki, ih! ih! ih!), as well as old material. Just click on the cover of the new album located at the top right of the homepage. Always on the site are indicated the (few) places in Italy where the actual records can be found. Now, the post-listening scenarios are two: you will either say "Well, cute, what a nonsense!… " or you'll pull out that darn smile from your face. Let's hope for the second.

And maybe it's not excluded that in ten years the shrewd Assante and Castaldo will write as a habitual practice that the Larsen Lombriki have struck once again. Otherwise, it was still a nice parenthesis. Closed quotes. Period… Ih! Ih! Ih!