(AU magazine, November 2009)
Album review
With all the swooning wonder of Sigur Rós and the harmonious vocal attributes of Fleet Foxes, this is the Danish collective's well-received 2007 album Parades performed in full, capably aided by the Danish National Chamber Orchestra. Now hear this - it's unusual, and you might be scared, but the classic musicianship snugly envelopes the ethereal soul of Efterklang like a great blanket of soot. There is bleakness and darkness, as on 'Frida Found A Friend', but also lightness and youth exposed, particularly on 'Mirador'. If the comparisions to the afore-mentioned Icelandic post-rockers bring forth yawns, then how about this - the tragic depths of Arcade Fire with an unwieldy orchestral heft. Every one of the 11 tracks on show here is a rousing epic, spaces filled with ecclesiastical chants and slathered with a Nordic sensibility. The DVD is a nice window into the Efterklang mind, but seeing them in cone-shaped gnome hats with painted cheeks does slightly taint the musical magic. Kirstie McCrum
7/10
DOWNLOAD: 'MIRADOR', 'MIMEO', 'MAISON DE REFLEXION'.
FOR FANS OF: SIGUR RÓS & ARCADE FIRE.
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