Since their formation in 2000, Copenhagen’s Efterklang have been gradually morphing into a more concise, traditional pop-rock band. The fear is that they will soon become Coldplay (isn’t all always?). Luckily they haven’t lost their adventurous streak on their fourth long-player, Piramida.
If you’re finding it hard to place the percussion that opens the beautiful opener Hollow Mountain, it’s because they’re striking against a fuel tank in a ghost town situated somewhere between Norway and the North Pole. The location is Piramiden, a former mining town. The band spent nine days there and came away with an extensive amount of field recordings. These found sounds are integrated gently throughout the album and the disquieting, isolated mood carries over into the songs and production.
That’s about where the experimental nature of Piramida ends; paradoxically, it’s the band’s most accessible album. The first half is especially strong, with Hollow Mountain standing out as an early peak. Apples sounds like a lost Shearwater classic, Sedna drifts by on its sad, seductive “taking me over” refrain, and Told To Be Fine has a lulling, centered vocal cast against shifting, shuffling rhythms, evoking Arthur Russell. After this opening quartet of songs, things get looser and somewhat less memorable, but the hook-laden high-points of this atmospheric album make it well worth seeking out.
BY CHRIS GIRDLER
Best Track: Hollow Mountain
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Asleep In The Back ELBOW, Rook SHEARWATER, Burst Apart THE ANTLERS
In A Word: Serene
