There is a fine line between creating mood music and just noodling. I’m not convinced that Reverbaphon manages to always steer clear of the latter, but there is certainly enough on Here Comes Everyone to make the debate an ongoing one and ultimately results in the benefit of the doubt going the artist.
So first with the good stuff. The textures are superb. There is always a surprising turn of sound around the corner – a processed field recording, some backwards harmonica, a drum roll from the middle of nowhere, some melodica, alongside the usual post-rock arsenal of DSPed electronics and heavily edited acoustic/electric instrumental play. There is great clarity in the production with every timbre given room to shine, even when low levels of distorted drone sometimes lay at the foundation. My guess is that guitar is probably Reverbaphon’s instrument of choice as it is the sound at the base of the bulk of these tracks. Yet he is happy to not be precious with his guitars – they are chopped and processed almost beyond recognition at times, to good effect.
The tracks themselves pose the greatest problems. The structure feels rather arbitrary, not melodically strong enough to hold attention, nor particularly dazzling in any other manner. In spite of the plethora of sounds, there rarely feels like the sense of journey that abstract instrumental music can conjure, nor the breathtaking epicness of, say, Fennesz or Ben Frost. Having said that, I’ve returned to the album a number of times as it’s the kind of thing I find myself really wanting to enjoy and find a way into. This has certainly helped as the minutae makes itself more apparent on each venture. Stronger tracks near the end of the disc such as ‘Here Comes Everyone’ and ‘Ainu Walking’ hint at where this music could go. The nagging question remains, though, as to whether a series of, admittedly incredibly interesting, sounds is enough to sustain an album.
Adrian Elmer
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