For Play, their first album for Important Records, Larsenare still using the same basic sound palette as their previous efforts,with perhaps a more concerted push towards melody. Apparently these sixtracks (each mysteriously named with a single letter of the alphabet)began their life as Autechre covers, before slowly evolving intosomething else entirely. If this information hadn't been outlined byImportant, however, I would have never made the connection. WithAutechre in mind as a reference point, I would say that Larsen wereaiming to expose the oft-obscured melodies underlying Autechre's bestwork from albums like Tri Repetae and LP5. Listening tothe play of vibraphone and drums on the album's opening track, I couldimagine these same melodies in the cold, sterile digital environment ofBooth and Brown, but I could just as easily imagine them as thesoundtrack to a late 1960s psychedelic giallo film scored by Goblin. Inthe final analysis, the Autechre connection is really a red herring,and sells the album short. Play is more a competent work ofdynamic ensemble playing by a group that is becoming more synergisticwith each successive release. I don't normally go in for this type ofostentatious, self-important post-rock, but Larsen are so successful atbuilding a melody and articulating its development perfectly over thecourse of an eight-minute song, that it's hard to resist. The droninglayers of harmonium and accordion create a densely abstractarchitecture for the rhythm to inhabit, with the whispered, chanted andgrowled wordless vocals adding that slightly sinister touch. Current 93listeners will notice interesting parallels between this album andC93's Sleep Has His House, as they use a virtually identicalgrouping of instruments. Occasionally, the players reach a noisycrescendo and the bombast is not dissimilar from vintage Children of God-eraSwans. Guest contributions from cellist Julia Kent (Rasputina andAntony and the Johnsons) and violinist Matt Howden (Sol Invictus) lendthe weighty tone of European folk music to the proceedings, which onlyintensifies the album's exquisitely somber mood. Coming off of a yearof disappointing new albums by post-rock stalwarts Tortoise andcountless GY!BE spinoffs, Play breathes fresh air into anoverpopulated genre. Not that Larsen should be tied to that particularstyle association, as they clearly have a vision that supercedes thekind of high-concept elevator music made by the aforementioned bands.Though it's fairly brief as albums go, Play works because themusic is taught, dramatic and entertaining; as soon as the album ended,I wanted to play it over from the beginning. samples:
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