Efterklang’s second album Parades may well end up being the last record I ever buy on CD now that I’m a card-holding member of the digital revolution. I got it at this unbelievably quaint record store in the cobbled lanes of Brighton, just up from the iconic pier. A hand-written review was stuck on to the front of the gem case with tape.
Efterklang were pitched as the Danish answer to Sigur Ros and Arcade Fire. Their songs were meant to be epic, orchestral and intense. I was promised everything from huge and heartfelt sea-shanties to sparse instrumental interludes. The whole situation was like crack to an indie fan like me. I couldn’t help myself. And the album didn’t disappoint either. It may never quite reach the heights of any of the output of its Icelandic and Canadian counterparts, but there is an earnestness and emotional commitment which really works.
Magic Chairs, Efterklang’s third and latest release, is definitely not cut from the same cloth. This is an unambiguous lunge for the mainstream, an attempt to capitalise on the recent indie-pop successes of Grizzly Bear, Vampire Weekend and the rest. It’s even produced by Gareth Jones, most recently of Grizzly Bear’s Veckatimest and Interpol’s Turn on the Bright Lights, but who has also worked with everyone from Erasure to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
The band put their intentions with Magic Chairs in the following terms on their website: “Where bands like the Beatles, Radiohead, Pink Floyd, Talk Talk and Soft Machine started with short pop songs before moving into more extended forms, Efterklang’s trajectory has been in the opposite direction: their early material employed the longer forms, shapes and sounds of classical music. Magic Chairs is the closest they’ve got to a straightforward album of songs.”
In practice, that means simpler song structures and more obviously singable melodies, with the vocal texture toned down accordingly. The choir plays a less prominent role here than it did on Parades and the rasping breathiness of Casper Clausen’s lead vocal has been replaced by a far cleaner sound.
Instrumentally, too, Magic Chairs is a far simpler, and occasionally, it must be said, twee affair. Think Sufjan Stevens-style chamber-pop rather than the enormous lushness of Sigur Ros.
That said, Efterklang are clearly talented musicians. They may not have the world’s greatest ear for a melody, but there is a lot to enjoy on this record. The Soft Beating in particular stands out as an ideal compromise between the largeness of the emotions of Parades, and the popiness they were clearly after here. It strikes me as uncannily close to how I imagine Coldplay wished they sounded in the post-Eno era.
But there are definite dull moments too. In particular, opening track Modern Drift and I Was Playing Drums (which their promotional material declares is “arguably their most accessible pop song to date”) are both decidedly uninspiring.
Overall there’s plenty to like here, but not much to love. A number of tracks will work nicely in the context of a live set; containing plenty of their older stuff (my strong suspicion is that they’d be excellent live). And if Magic Chairs brings Efterklang more critical attention, so much the better. They deserve it. But I for one will be hoping that next time round they get back some of their previous intensity.
Magic Chairs is due out February 19 2010 on 4AD/Remote Control Records.
