Larsen
Play

A group shrouded in an aura of mystery like no other, our very own Larsen... originating from Turin, Larsen has represented the true musical avant-garde in Italy for over ten years. In their sleep-inducing and excruciatingly circular sound, you can find a thousand and one stylistic and musical references, from the seminal dark-noise of the ever-underrated Swans, to the alienating and deformed post-rock of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, up to the musical byways and visceral majesties achieved by masters such as Neurosis and Throbbing Gristle.

Nonetheless, none of the aforementioned influences ever seem to dominate, thus branding them with the hated label of "derivative group"... on the contrary, every Larsen album always reveals the progress they've made: "Rever," produced by Michael Gira (Swans; Angels of Light), and the first "No Arms, No Legs: Identification Problems" highlight a strong mystical and ambient component (rustles, distant moans, whispers abound); but it is with this latest effort (PLAY) that the Turin quartet finally lays its cards on the table, and the Larsen creature, immersed in a quasi-decade-long slumber (yet remembering their steady presence on stage in the mid-'90s, that is when few idolized such music, alongside their mentors Swans and Neurosis...), can finally spread its strong wings to soar stubbornly over our unsuspecting heads. The accordion takes center stage and certainly imparts a very folk flavor to the whole, but the taste it leaves on the palate is far from being succulent and elaborate... everything appears, upon repeated analysis, sparse and sober, yet magnificent.

These 6 tracks leave one astounded for their broad vision, for their emphasis, and above all, it is a spectacle to hear (especially in headphones) the sound grow ever more: first gentle and graceful, it turns with class and style until it becomes grave, menacingly orchestral. Superb. The drums beat circular rhythms, the guitar winds tortuously until it becomes a piercing drone, the icing on the cake (in my view) are the voices, almost prayers and mantras that nestle right there, in that corner of the mother-melody left vacant, begging to be filled... How wonderful to know that even in Italy, typically barren from a musical innovation standpoint, there are groups like this (certainly not the only one...), known more abroad than at home (the new album is under Important Rec., a notable US label that also produces Acid Mothers Temple, Wolf Eyes, Genesis P-Orridge, Barbez, Diane Cluck, etc.), and truly able to export a bit of sensitivity made in Italy, rather than the usual Parmigiano Reggiano... Moreover, XXL has just been released—still under Important— that is XIU XIU + LARSEN... soon I'll have it in my hands... but that's another story!!