(r) - Under the Cables, Into the Wind CD (Important, 2005) stan db+

With a name that is likely to cause the record buying public as many problems as !!!, Fabrizio Modonese (leader of Larsen) has assumed his ( r ) guise to release this, his first solo album. Taking the sound which permeated Larsen's 'Play', Modonese is an artist who strives for the bigger picture and on 'Under The Cables, Into The Wind' he certainly finds it. These aural landscapes manifest themselves in different ways throughout, ranging from the clatter ambience of opening track 'Love Song' (which could ALMOST be a neutered digital Merzbow), the echo-laden bellicose of 'Ghosts Are Made of DNA', through to alarm saturated closer 'Love Song'. Featuring one of the oddest covers you will ever hear (Avril Lavigne's 'I'm With U'), ( r ) is emotionally strained and at turns challenging, but give it time and it'll soon be under your skin.