Windflowers, the poetically titled sixth album from Danish post-rock trio
Efterklang, finds the group in a mood of peaceful restraint. Named for the tiny buttercup blossoms that perennially blanket forest floors in the springtime, it's one of the band's gentlest and most scaled-back outings to date. Preceded by 2019's
Altid Sammen, their first album to be sung entirely in Danish,
Windflowers sees vocalist
Casper Clausen return to the evocative English vocabulary of earlier efforts where themes of nature collide with a sense of emotional yearning. For a band increasingly reliant on guest collaborators and orchestral elements, the album was initially conceived as a back-to-basics affair, though strings and backing vocalists do appear throughout the set, if a bit more sparingly than before. Tracks like the poignant "Hold Me Close When You Can" and "House on a Feather" exist in the misty liminal state that
Efterklang occupy so well. The band's signature electro-acoustic production really shines on opening combo "Alien Arms" and "Beautiful Eclipse" where stately strings slip across skittering beats and subliminal textures that are felt more than heard. At its most ebullient,
Windflowers achieves a sunlit crescendo on standout "Living Other Lives" with its group vocals, insistent rhythms, and quirky folk details like accordions and trilling flute parts. "Mindless Center" works a similar magic with its unique spoken parts and radiant backing vocals. Like each of their albums,
Windflowers is a wonder of detailed production and easy elegance, though it also suffers from a sameness in tone that dulls its overall impact. It's certainly comfortable, and maybe that was
Efterklang's intent, but they are at their best when throwing in the occasional left-turn or sonic shake-up. ~ Timothy Monger
