efterklang: music that will change your life

my friend forrest told me about an amazing "folktronica" band out of denmark called efterklang, so i went to see them play at spaceland the other night with some friends.  i avoided listening to their music before the show, because i love experiencing a new band live.  i am not easily impressed when it comes to music, as there are so many bands out there doing the same boring indie shit, but as soon as these guys hopped onto the tiny spaceland stage, i knew i was in for a transcendental ride.  the band consists of 5 core members, but are joined by violinist peter broderick, from portland oregon, for live gigs.  peter is a musical prodigy.  he opened for the band  as a solo act as well, and literally stole the breath of every person in the room.  starting off with the old singer songwriter routine, he quickly transitioned into a one man act, recording different instruments which he played flawlessly, and then replaying each on top of the other, resulting in a electro-symphonic experience.  every member of efterklang has an intuitive as well as learned understanding of music.  lead singer casper clausen has the enigma of chris martin, but in a more fluid and effortless way.  every move that he makes across the stage is natural and in tune with the music, and it is obvious that he is intoxicated by the words spilling out of his mouth.  the other band members switched instruments throughout the show, banging on each others drums, picking up bazookas and other odd instruments, demonstrating their multi-talented abilities, all the while grinning wildly and singing along with casper.  i like watching performers that are in love with what they are doing and not the idea of it.  i saw the killers years ago, right as they were making it big, and i remember being so bored because they seemed so bored and disinterested in what they were playing.  efterklang has abstractly constructed a new genre of music that is not only pleasant to the ear, but also deepening to the soul.  the lyrics and the sound have depth, but do not make you want to kill yourself.  i was taken on a journey in a little over an hour to places inside of myself that i had forgotten about, releasing feelings that had sunken deep down.  i awoke the next morning in tears.  music is supposed to do this.  it is not supposed to tell us how to feel, but lead us to a place we need to go to feel whatever it is we have been compressing.  efterklang is the danish word for remembrance and reverberation.  coincidence?  listen to the music, but if you have the opportunity, do not miss out on experiencing them live.

www.efterklang.net