LETTERA 22 - "True Form" LP (A Dear Girl Called Wendy)

For months, "True Form" as sat in the cubby that is just below my record player. Typically, this is the holding area for things that are new. That is to say, records that have recently entered my home - whether they are recently released or forty years old, take up temporary residence. Most move on quickly, filed away with the rest of them, but some may occupy this area for months on end. And, there are various reasons why that might be the case, most of which I assume are pretty much obvious. ...in the case of Lettera 22's LP: I had wanted to say something about it, and just hadn't been able to sort out exactly what that was.

It's become a bit of a "go to" for me, satisfying the desire for a very specific strain of "noise", as while this is undoubtedly harsh throughout most of it's duration, writing it off as a wall of sound would be a shame. It's an incredibly intricate and crisp onslaught from start to finish: thick and unknown sources are completely overblown while the most specific dose of feedback periodically slices through, field recordings of metallic clatter are nestled between the mechanical sputter and stop-and-go of the device itself while "industrial" is stripped back down to it's most raw form, the primal nature in which some moments present themselves are, if not anything, "human" and even more so persuasive than percussive.

So it goes, this is a living and breathing entity that is simultaneously bleak and amorphous while also so violently sharp and textured, yet the two co-exist in a relationship that is captivating and organic rather than just proving to embody contrast and juxtaposition. That makes for an intriguing experience on each listen, of which there has been perhaps 20 of or so, and even now that it's been given it's space here, "True Form" will continue to stay where it has been in this room. It's got at least another few plays coming up in the next several weeks.

Note: Only 200 copies of this masterpiece! It's very fitting that this duo from Italy have an upcoming split 12" with Sickness. It's on the way from Phage tapes and surely worth keeping an eye out for. ...as are some on-deck 7"s on Wendy, from Sissy Spacek and Mammal.