Efterklang & The Britten Sinfonia – Barbican Hall, London 28/10/09

29 October 2009, 08:10 | Written by John Rogers

(Live)

It’s nice when you accidentally stumble into a show that carries a heightened significance for the performers.

I remember seeing Terrorvision in my teens at a sold-out Wolverhampton Civic, and watching their beaming faces as they revealed they’d never played a real ‘hall’ venue with a balcony before. And Los Campesinos! at ATP were so overcome with pride to be involved that their singer Gareth visibly broke down from the excitement. It adds to a sense of occasion to see a show mean something special to the players.

There might not be any tears and drama on the stage for Efterklang, but the band are visibly thrilled throughout tonight’s performance in a packed out Barbican Hall. And rightly so – they are playing with the Britten Sinfonia, performing huge, impressive arrangements of the songs from their album Parades and it’s live counterpart Performing Parades.

The band seemed to have multiplied for the occasion, with what seems like eleven or twelve members in distinctive harlequin-colour sashes, including a three-part choir and the conductor. Some of them shift between instruments, jogging from one side of the stage to the other to switch between drums and organ, trombone and guitar. The arrangements often encompass two or three sections in each song, from subtle string-plucking and organ work to expansive, emotional orchestra swells, to lonesome brass outros. There’s never a shortage of exciting sounds and things to lack at with so many performers involved.

Reference points come to mind in droves. Sometimes the lingering arrangements are like the artier moments on Björk’s seminal chamber-pop record Vespertine, but without that central show-stopping voice and persona; Casper Clausen’s lead vocal is understated by comparison, and allows the ensemble performance to take the limelight.

At other times, I’m reminded of Nico Muhly’s avant-garde string arrangements, or the subtle electronic textures of Icelandic producer Valgier Sigurðsson’s solo work; the militaristic percussion lends a sense of historic grandeur also found in Matmos’s The Civil War, or in Sons Of Noel & Adrian, who opened the evening’s bill in the foyer space.

Efterklang tonight dispel any coffee-table-electronica stigma that may have come from their earlier recordings. This is an ambitious and talented ensemble giving it their all, and it’s a sight and sound to behold. In full flow, they create an epic, utterly absorbing sound that’s nothing short of magical.