When I often listen to music I see colors. For example, 2008’s Dear Science, by TV on the Radio brought explosions of vibrant colors like red, yellow, and green to my mind. Conversely, Efterklang’s Magic Chairs left afterimages, grays, and deep, bleak blues. This is no way to say that the album is not good or will make you sad. It just means that one must sit on this record (no, not psychically) and give it some time.
“Modern Drift” kicks off Magic Chairs with a charming, lovely piano tied to a drum part that attempts to match the vocal melody. However, “Modern Drift” never truly has a glamorous moment, which is not too good considering it is probably the catchiest song on the album. It never reaches out as a “pop” song, which is similar to the sound of Sigur Rós (a band Efterklang is constantly compared to). To some, this makes the album rather difficult to listen to, but for me it makes me want to dig down and find the essential elements of the songs.
One must be patient with this album because while you obviously can’t just find the obvious “pop” on the album, it is also actually rather difficult to find, as I said, the essential elements. For example, the next song on the album, “Alike,” is persistently growing in textures. For me it is what I like about this album most, but I can certainly see why these textures make it difficult for listeners to excavate a “pop” song.
The major problem with the album is that there are no singles. I write “pop” because on Magic Chairs there really isn’t much of any pop music at all. It is not bad, but it is quite a yawn at points. Like the album art, which is great, Modern Chairs is modern, sleek, and dwindles here and there, just as the ribbons on the cover are randomly sprawled out. For example, “Harmonics,” a Neil Peart fan's wet dream and “Raincoats,” which mixes the whistle of Andrew Bird with the staccato harmonies of a band like Dirty Projectors, are fantastic songs, but I am not convinced if everyone will think them with such high regard. I did like this album, but for most, I couldn’t imagine people loving Magic Chairs.
Final Rating: 80/100
- Greg
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