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Efterklang

A A A Comments By Rick Mason Wednesday, Sep 1 2010

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The highly regarded Danish chamber pop quartet Efterklang reportedly presents mesmerizing live performances of its sweeping, exquisitely textured pastiches, which ebb and flow among lush orchestrations, pulsing electronica, ethereal vocals, massed choruses, splashes of horns and a classical string ensemble, avant rock, and the odd touch of freak folk. Remarkably, Efterklang's meticulous, complex production yields music that is anything but dense or overblown; it's as wispy as swirling fog and just as enigmatic, unveiling layers of intrigue that are melodically rich yet sublimely ephemeral. Two previous Efterklang albums, 2004's Tripper and 2007's Parades, were widely praised as masterpieces that cultivated a certain majesty via their orchestral-like epic scale. The new album, Magic Chairs, reverts to a more conventional song-oriented approach, essentially building the tracks from the ground up but often achieving a similarly cool, cerebral, organic elegance. Opening will be the Brooklyn-based duo Buke & Gass, which takes its name from the idiosyncratic instruments invented by Aron Sanchez and Minnesota native Arone Dyer: a modified baritone ukulele and guitar-bass hybrid. They also stir up blustery rhythms with a lot of percussive devices, generally played with their feet, and Dyer often sings with a kind of punky keen. Sometimes they sound a little like Sonic Youth with their massed chords, while Dyer suggests Cyndi Lauper on steroids. But, really, B&G sound like combustible alt-everything, and their mutant sound arsenal is entirely fascinating on their forthcoming Riposte.(Photo by Nan Na Hvass)
Sat., Sept. 11, 7 p.m., 2010