How great must it be to be Danish? Where as the rest of us have to deal with Simon Cowell's latest Pop Idol cash cow clogging up our charts, bands as multi-dimensional as Efterklang can go straight to number one in their homeland with a 5 track, limited edition experimental EP.
The release in question is the magical Under Giant Trees, another impressive contribution from The Leaf Label (in conjunction with Rumraket). Similar to the period when Sigur Rós where about to release ( ), this Danish collective will release a career (or genre) defining album later in 2007. This EP serves to whet the appetite and shows enormous promise of what's to come.
Efterklang's 2004 Tripper was a strong release, yet it left you with a nagging feeling that something was missing from their sound. Whatever it was, they have found it (and then some!) on Under Giant Trees. Combining swelling orchestral movements, brass arrangements, glitch electronica and hushed vocal harmonies, Under Giant Trees is 30 sprawling and colourful minutes. Every little creak and crackle in this release represents a key component of Efterklang's sound and is augmented by some truly wonderful instrumentation.
In "Himmelbjerget", Efterklang have possibly written song of the year. It takes so many left turns that it will leave you feeling dizzy. Blossoming from a melancholic verse into a full-blown symphony, music has rarely been so magical. Yet you could say the same thing about any track on this EP. The magnificent "Jojo", for example, swells around your speakers as the vocals soar around it in an uplifting manner.
It may be difficult to pinpoint Efterklang's sound, but then that's exactly the point--just let yourself be lost in its several magical moments. While many will point to Sigur Ros as an influence, it could be argued that Efterklang have a little more to them. The Icelandic quartet lost a few fans after releasing the glossy Takk, but you get the feeling that Efterklang are about to unleash something completely different altogether. Under Giant Trees, however, sets them up nicely. From now on anything is possible.
| Reviewer: Michael Henaghan Added: August 8th 2007 |
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