Description:	LP with download code on 4AD
	Format:	LP (vinyl)
	Genre(s):	Experimental Pop
	Label:	4AD
	Price:	£14.79
	Availability:	Sold out / currently unavailable. Sorry!

4
...according to our Phil on 18 February 2010.

4AD are hoovering up everyone these days. After a few albums on the Leaf label Danish pop sensation Efterklang are ready to release they're new pop opus 'Magic Chairs' into your face and associated areas. They're a band I've quite liked over the year... never massively but I've always thought they were pretty good and they had something about them. I guess without Radiohead being all experimental bands like Efterklang wouldn't have happened. Maybe you should thank them for that! The album is pretty epic in scope as it features quite complex musical arrangements using a wide variety of instruments, taking from different genres whilst trying to make it poppy. A tall order indeed.... and it's something they manage to do. It's coherent and uniquely them.... lots of brass instruments, unusual beats and clever instrumentation all placed together in a big pot with Magic Chairs written on the side. It's hard for me to say whether or not it's any good as I've only heard about 25 minutes of it now but it's certainly interesting and it's good there are bands like this being all clever and flash everywhere. Also it features both Broderick's which will probably get a bunch of you covered in your own shit you'll be that excited. Smashing!

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Sound clips for Magic Chairs by Efterklang: on vinyl at Norman Records UK. LP (vinyl), 4AD, CAD3X01, £14.79.

What their label says...

•    Since 2000, Copenhagen-based quartet Efterklang (plus an ever evolving number of collaborators) have been quietly honing their craft, fusing left- of-centre electronic beats with grand orchestral gestures. Self-sufficient by nature and necessity, the band have, until now, always written, recorded and produced every element of their music from the comfort of their Copenhagen bunker. In this time, they have also released records through their own Rumraket label, working with the likes of Grizzly Bear, Amiina and Slaraffenland. So far, the results have been nothing short of revelatory; in particular, 2007’s hugely ambitious ‘Parades’, an album that was difficult to define but even harder to fault, it raised their profile enormously, and with ‘Magic Chairs’ they continue their evolution, exploring previously unchartered territory.

•    The result is an intimate and immediate record that exudes warmth. The grandiose classical structures heard so prominently and admired so highly in previous albums ‘Tripper’ and ‘Parades’ have been replaced by something far more streamlined, deconstructed and altogether melodious. Opening track ‘Modern Drift’ is a statement of intent with its intricate and looping arpeggios whilst ‘I Was Playing Drums’ is arguably their most accessible pop song to date, the echoes of its refrain linger irresistibly in the ear. ‘Magic Chairs’ still bears the occasional signature moment (an electronic buzz here, a choral flair there) but, all told, it is an album that is an even bolder step forward