Putting It Out There
Reverii eschews album in favor of performing
Gabe Larson worked on a 2-song EP.
Boasting their very own makeshift in-home recording studio, Eau Claire’s newest indie/alternative rock group Reverii is putting together a compilation of original songs in no time at all. But ironically, it’s time that is getting in the way of the group’s followers from hearing some new tracks.
Frontman Gabe Larson said Reverii wants to build a larger fan base before releasing a full-length album to the public. Instead, the group is hitting different venues locally and around the Midwest to play live shows in hopes of reaching out to a larger following.
“I don’t know how excited I would be about just going straight to album at this point,” Larson said. “Sometimes when bands are just starting off, if they release an album and nobody really knows about them yet, the excitement is short lived and it gets lost. Whereas, if bands can use an EP with some songs, build up excitement and then release an album, it generates a little more interest.”
The group formed last summer after Larson started putting together “Fire Players,” one of the songs featured on their two-song Rever EP. With around two-thirds of it finished, he asked fellow members Gage Armstrong and Joe Hunt to help put together the finishing touches.
“We want to play music and enjoy music together. So it doesn’t matter who writes the lyrics, who wrote the lead guitar part, or who ends up singing." - keyboardist Tyler Isaac on Reverii's communal style
After that, Larson said things started moving pretty quickly. A staff member of NOTA, UW-Eau Claire’s creative arts publication, heard they were putting together a group and asked the three to play during the organization’s release show last semester at the Volume One Gallery.
They then recruited the three other members of Reverii, played the show, and started making more tracks on their own time. Keyboardist Taylor Isaac said they have around six songs finished, along with three more still under production. The group should have two officially released by the end of the summer.
“The thing I love about Reverii is the communal aspect of music, I think that’s what really started Reverii,” Isaac said. “We want to play music and enjoy music together. So it doesn’t matter who writes the lyrics, who wrote the lead guitar part, or who ends up singing. We all do have our spots that we fit in, but in the end we end up being able to identify collectively with the music.”
But with so many different feelings put into one song, the production is bound to change eventually. That’s why those who’ve listened to Reverii’s EP may not hear the same sound when the group starts releasing some of their newer tracks.
Since releasing a largely ambient-feeling Rever in May, Armstrong said he’s seen their music take a major swing towards indie rock.
“At first, it was really ambient sounding and had a lot of clean sounds on guitar and not much overdrive or anything like that,” Armstrong said. “But then, I honestly feel like in the past three or four months, it’s become a lot more rock-y. There’s a lot of overdrive and heavier drums and stuff like that.”
Reverii plays July 12 at the House of Rock, 422 Water St. To hear the group’s Rever EP, go to thisisreverii.bandcamp.com.
