TONIGHT: Efterklang @ Johnny Brenda's

POSTED: Wednesday, February 27, 2013, 9:00 AM

Filed Under: Music

By Andreas Koefoed

In the dozen years since they first emerged as a brooding, expansive, 10-piece symphonics-plus-electronics post-rock ensemble, Copenhagen’s Efterklang have slowly undergone a curious evolution, contracting in size and sound enough to resemble a more pedestrian atmospheric indie-rock band, but without fully losing the evocative majesty that earned them those early Sigur Rós comparisons. While last year’s Piramida (4AD) still boasted a robust roster of contributors (including the Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra and the South Denmark Girls Choir), they’re officially down to a trio, with vocalist Casper Clausen’s burnished croon (a less melodramatic echo of Tindersticks frontman Stuart Staples’ eternal baritone) now forming the clear focal point to their compositions. And despite taking inspiration (and field recorded ambience) from a visit to the Arctic Circle ghost town that provided the album’s title, these compact, sound-stuffed fantasias tend to evoke wistful domestic tranquility rather than your typical resplendent Nordic mountainscapes. Call it Danish Modern chamber pop; in this case, it feels like it could actually fit inside a chamber.

Wed., Feb. 27, 9:15 p.m., $12-$14, with Jherek Bishoff, Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684, johnnybrendas.com.

Posted by K. Ross Hoffman @ 9:00 AM Permalink | Post a comment

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