Danish Pop Lush meets synth Blissfulness

Efterklang, an early 2000s Danish experimental art band, made its debut album over 20 years ago with Tripper, with its critical acclaim and signage to Leaf Label, showcased the next 20 years and extensive journey into award-winning pop art and lush experimental rock classics. Hitting upon indie folk, dream pop, synthpop, and even some earlier inspirations of dark wave and glitch, Efterklang has been continuously evolving their sound and pushing the boundaries to create meaningful and artistic content with thought-provoking messages. The three permanent members of Efterklang—Mads Brauer, Casper Clausen, and Rasmus Stolberg— reunite with pianist and composer Rune Mølgaard, who left the group after their 2007 album Parades. Their most recent releases, The Things We Have In Common, highlights Mølgaard’s initial indoctrination into the Mormon faith and his ultimate departure in 2022, battling the journey of the artist’s own personal journey of religion, spirituality, and removing oneself from a space they entirely didn’t feel at home with. Furthermore, the album breaches forward and dives further with the band’s ultimate recapturing of the original group, highlighting the growth, interconnectedness, and spiritual oneness of all.

Efterklang is no stranger to the use of synths and electronic hums and drones to push forward exposition to melody. The first track, “Balancing Stones,” opens with a long movement of synth melody and harmonics, ultimately moving in up and down style to a full crescendo of the rocking band audiences love. The track holds many elements of the album and what many hold Efterklang dear for: beautiful harmonic backup vocals, a great guitar and bass movement, rocking drums, and the incorporation of various different melodic devices from synth and pop to the experimental movement and full orchestral arrangements. Furthermore, “Balancing Stones” opens up about the introspective movement and message of the album, with lyrics like “go through the eyes of silence/ I feel divided, on my own/“ to the purely imagery and metaphorical composition like “winter cuts your throat” and “a window to your soul.” Overall, the tone set by “Balancing Stones” is of the enlightened and airy pop tone, moving through its longer and languid pieces to pure exposition and melodic movement representing clarity and depth in pure music harmony. This amazing setting stone itself, the first track brings forth the exciting and beautiful development of the rest of the album.

The second track, “Plant” is the deep and meaningful composition of Efterklang, diving into the personal messages of exploring the natural world as a metaphor for human emotions. The lyrics “Pick me up gives us wings/ You look like cotton in the wind/ tender water for a while/ A tremble/ On my heels,” matches perfectly with the falsetto vocals, muted percussion, and lushful synth that experiment with sound and style. The ethereal movement gives an almost calming effect at times, only to swipe this away with euphoric crescendos and blasting and gorgeous vocalist and back traps. This of course continues into the next track, “Getting Reminders,” where the ethereal vocal uprises instead mix with a new drum and beat pattern, exploring new clapping and dissonant rings into the background. Furthermore, “Getting Reminders,” builds off the previous two tracks but adds each time in style and composition. The choppy and push forward lyrics mash with the established synth pop, as well the addition of a wonderful acoustic guitar that adds depth and precision in beautiful movements of silence and sound. This of course can not go without mention, the wonderful band and trumpet orchestration that is prevalent throughout the entire album

The fourth track, “Ambulance,” highlights a purely artistic and creative endeavor that reveals why Efterklang has been praised for their sound and exquisite abilities. The exposition lays with deep and heavy distortion, terrifying at first, laying down what will be a wonderful beginning of industrial guitar rock riffs, deep bass, and the pounding of drums. The vocals switch from its ethereal high to a chanting deep tone, highlighting the earlier dark wave and non-fear of getting into a more rock and deeper mood. The solos and riffs of the guitar lead to the realization of the great amalgamation of a pure rock sound: a great electric guitar soloing, drums beating faster and faster, keys soloing in special moments behind, and finally a non-stop bass. The crescendo of the song itself, carrying the emotional weight of yearning for a new beginning and not belonging, slowly dwindles into what feels like raindrops across a windowsill. The movement— highs and lows-/ to the soft ending leads to what can be described as a wonderful and musically talented piece.

So far in the beautiful album, Efterklang has been adding more and more to its discography, building in different elements and sounds to describe the passage of oneself, and the harboring emotions set before the band. Sixth track, “Leave it All Behind,” highlights a never before heard piano introduction and riff, with its heavy reliance of the piano to respond to the purely electronic and dissonant voice that echoes in the background. The building of the piano, the sharp changes of the keys, from the fast pass movement to the full composition in bridge leads the audience on a journey never expected— beautiful and groundbreaking in style and genre. The melodic vocal hums in the background fade to the spaced and sharp drum beats down, thumping in continuum over the beautiful piano ambience. The call and response against such piano beauty and electronic voice and distant electronic harmonics lead to only a full choir and euphoric moment of “Animated Heart.” The irony of the electronic name is the very human and beautiful emotional vocal introduction to the acoustic guitar that breaks in indie fashion. The vocal raspiness drowns out in a single spotlight of the guitar strumming with the meaningful and heartbroken lyrics. Within it is the constant build and rise to the chorus, a full alignment of all the beauty and grandeur of the choir and chamber pop into one full moment. Such movements that surround each track of the piece highlight the experimental mode, medium of beautiful expression, and the completely raw and deep message Efterklang is exploring.

“Shelf Break,” the song dedicated to the departure of the Mormon faith, is an electronic introduction into a somber nation. However, beyond the startlingly message that the band wish to tell is the high paced and ultra pop tone. The movement of electronic sounds and high intensity falsetto vocals, bring the tone to an almost opposition to the message. Nevertheless, this movement comes to a moment of a pure acoustic and lofty lyrical quality, screaming “free yourself.” This provides the cinematic movement of the piece and ultimate movement Efterklang is known for. This highlights what can be seen throughout the album, a journey of ups and downs within each track to express the ever changing self; furthermore, the experimental side that developed them into more and more tunes and beautiful media. The lyrics: “Moments that collide/ Moments that divide,” endings with a sweet melodic resolution.

“Sentiment,” is a beautiful piano intro with a slow jazz drum style. The acoustic rings beautifully in the background, the lyrics “Everything revolves around love, colors are the way that we are,” meshes perfectly like a planned portrait. This track leading into its soft tones, high picked guitar, and wishing of drums encompasses all into what feels like a hippy’s hug. What leads next is the ending track, herding us in with an ethereal outro.

“To A New Day,” the ending movement of the album hits a more indie tone with its down chanting piano, and full lyrical vocals perching forward in beautiful fashion. The comfortable and euphoric feeling is that of full realization, an ending drenched in full joyous celebration. The band, the album, and the artists inside release in its pop fashion, the rest of the album with it— tying almost all of the elements into a glorious tone and message, marked by lyrics like: “Now or Forever/ We are born to the Earth giving birth to a new day.”

Efterklang marks another wonderful expression of self and musical composition to this Danish’s indie experimental pop lush extensive discography. Breaching forward with new members, meaningful and gut-wrenching expressions, to bring forth an electronic synth, pop lush, and hopeful day of ethereal choirs and full-on orchestra arrangements. Things we have in common, explored an intimate and vital piece of ourselves, blending all of their musical styles and expertise into one glorious piece. The introduction of long-awaited member Mølgaard, and the healing that has occurred inside, hopefully leads to another exciting and beautiful album by this gifted and talented bright group.