Efterklang was one of my favorite bands coming into SXSW, but I wondered how such a complex sound would translate into a SXSW showcase slot. Not surprisingly, the sheer size of the band led to some wrinkles in what is normally an accelerated set up, and it looked like a small Danish battalion was setting up camp as they brought drums, pedals, sleigh bells, power strips and a laundry list of other instruments and equipment up onto the stage. With such a number of instruments and cables piled up, the sound system picked up a strange and inexplicable banging sound that plagued sound check and recurred twice during the performance. I was worried that my concerns might be justified.
But the scope of Efterklang’s music exceeds even the band’s enormous (and apparently inconvenient) physical presence, and the songs came through with the same atmospheric, operatic, and symphonic qualities as the studio versions I’d come to appreciate. The sound is epic, strange, and new, with chilling vocal harmonies that keep it grounded in something undeniably human. Efterklang’s music plays like a soundtrack for a movie of all the best moments and great loves of your life, and the dramatic reach was only enhanced through experiencing the songs live and seeing them through the enthusiastic eyes of their creators. Despite my concerns, nothing of Efterklang’s expansive sound was lost in translation--- even into a short SXSW set---but only reminded the crowd that it only takes a few minutes to be moved.
Set list
Step Aside
Loose Ends
I Won’t Believe
Caravan
Mirror Mirror
Cutting Ice to Snow
DOWNLOAD: Efterklang - Mirador (MP3) or Follow us for more Efterklang MP3s (Twitter)
he is amazing bro his style can not be touched....some people dont know what he is talking about caz u dont do what he does he is sickkk bra
by dylyn on Thu Mar 18, 2010 at 11.59 am from the entry: Wiz Khalifa: Burn After Rolling (Mixtape)
Wow,Great post.Thanks for sharing with us. land wi
by wisconsin land on Thu Mar 18, 2010 at 09.53 am from the entry: of Montreal + Gang Gang Dance - Orpheum Theatre (Boston, MA; Oct. 30, 2008)
Ugh. Paste’s profile of Free Energy made me kind of hate them. So does your review. It’s this unctuous defense of good-time rock-and-roll ("we’re just here to party, and we’re awesome!") that seems more self-serving than fun-loving.
by beth on Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 09.41 pm from the entry: Foreign Born + Free Energy - The Knitting Factory (Brooklyn, NY; Mar. 12, 2010)
that inescapable feeling you are referring to, is that like when you hear something and you could have sworn you heard it before because of the nostalgic catchy quality? or is is like when you’ve heard a band exactly like said band?
great post by the way!
by paul on Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 03.15 pm from the entry: The Novel Ideas - "The Sky Is A Field" - Borrow It
Whoa! I had no idea she was enegaged. You would never know with the way she behaves! Wow!
by art on Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 09.48 am from the entry: Nikki Darlin and John McCauley: 1+1=1
This comment stream is so meta. Great review Kelly.
by chris on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 07.50 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
no prob. The whole album is excellent, combining some of the harder sonics of Los Angeles with the meat of his debut and obviously difficult to summarize in only 50 words… 
I’d say it’s on par with the debut, but better than Los Angeles.
by kelly on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 06.23 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
Any way we could get jpg copies of photos from Emos shows you took at SXSW 2009? We will post on the Myspace & give you credit.
Thanks!!
Will Evans
Love these guys! So glad you covered them. Let’s see them at TT’s on Monday, Boston!