Late last year, I had the privilege of hearing an EP from what was at the time, a little-known band from the other side of the world. Efterklang was the name of the band, and "Springer" was the name of the CD. At the time, I speculated that the band had a bright future ahead of them, and Halo-17 reviewer Thomas Dwan stated that it was, "an interesting, and worthwhile thirty-one minutes of music". I was excited when I tore open the package containing my review copy of Efterklang's first full-length album "Tripper", because I was eager to see if the band had lived up to their potential.

Happily for everyone involved, "Tripper" lives up to expectations, and depending upon your point of view, the music will either seem to be a work of quiet genius, or a work of pretentious excess. Personally, I lean towards the former, because while this album has a much more sweeping feel than "Springer" did, it's also calm and restrained. The band keeps things under control here, and do not let the immense sophistication of their compositions get away from them.

The best way to approach this album is not to view it as a set of nine different songs, but rather as a single fifty-minute work cut into nine distinct sections. Different motifs and themes sporadically re-appear throughout the runtime of the album, giving it an extraordinary sense of cohesion. Unlike some other bands who have tried this approach, Efterklang have managed to keep things sounding organic and natural, rather than artificially constructed - it sounds like the amazing uniformity happened spontaneously, rather than being devised in the studio.

One of the key features of "Tripper" is the large number of guests that the band have chosen to use. On their own, the five-piece still manage to construct lovely soundscapes with their traditional rock instruments, but with the addition of violins, cellos, trumpets, trombones, french horns, flutes, a Greenlandic choir, and a whole bunch of electronic effects, the band diversify their sound considerably. Again though, the band exercises remarkable restraint, and the additional instruments are just used to supplement and embellish the core melodies, not to overwhelm the listener in a torrent of neoclassical instrumentation. Take the opening track, Foetus, for example. Over its three-minute run time, you'll not only hear percussion, bass, and guitar, but you'll also hear a smattering of electronic noise, bells, strings, a choir, and finally, an accordion on the lead-out. The best bit is, the song doesn't sound excessive, and it even sounds understated and quiet.

Aside from the inevitable Sigur Rós comparisons that will be made, it sounds like the band have also picked up a few new influences. The skittery percussion of Múm is evident in Swarming and Step Aside, and the foreboding strings of Godspeed You Black Emperor! can be heard in Foetus and Monopolist. That's not to say that Efterklang are a bunch of copycats, but they do wear their influences on their sleeves.

"Tripper" is an album that's nothing if not enormously ambitious, and for the most part, Efterklang have hit the bullseye. If you hated the pomp and splendour of "Ágætis Byrjun", you'll probably hate this as well. On the other hand, if you're looking for some haunting, evocative music that reveals something new with each listen, you won't go wrong with this release.