Efterklang was one of my favorite bands coming into SXSW, but I wondered how such a complex sound would translate into a SXSW showcase slot. Not surprisingly, the sheer size of the band led to some wrinkles in what is normally an accelerated set up, and it looked like a small Danish battalion was setting up camp as they brought drums, pedals, sleigh bells, power strips and a laundry list of other instruments and equipment up onto the stage. With such a number of instruments and cables piled up, the sound system picked up a strange and inexplicable banging sound that plagued sound check and recurred twice during the performance. I was worried that my concerns might be justified.
But the scope of Efterklang's music exceeds even the band's enormous (and apparently inconvenient) physical presence, and the songs came through with the same atmospheric, operatic, and symphonic qualities as the studio versions I'd come to appreciate. The sound is epic, strange, and new, with chilling vocal harmonies that keep it grounded in something undeniably human. Efterklang's music plays like a soundtrack for a movie of all the best moments and great loves of your life, and the dramatic reach was only enhanced through experiencing the songs live and seeing them through the enthusiastic eyes of their creators. Despite my concerns, nothing of Efterklang's expansive sound was lost in translation--- even into a short SXSW set---but only reminded the crowd that it only takes a few minutes to be moved.
Set list
Step Aside
Loose Ends
I Won't Believe
Caravan
Mirror Mirror
Cutting Ice to Snow
