The first time I heard "Step Aside" by Efterklang was as a soundtrack for a really great student film by a friend. It was shot on Super-8 film—the format that's really flickering and old-fashioned and grainy—and was basically a montage of hundreds of very short clips; little snatches of people's faces in various reactions. "Step Aside" really seems like the perfect song for that kind of thing—it's very flickering and elusive, with a touch of wistfulness and a certain element of wonder.
I liked the song so much that I looked it, and the band, up. Efterklang is a Danish group, and the name is based, fittingly, on the Danish word for "remembrance" or "reverberation," which I thought was the perfect summation of "Step Aside."
I downloaded all three of their albums: Tripper (2004), Parade (2007), and the more recent Magic Chairs (2010), and they were all solid listens. I can't say that anything jumped out at me the same way that "Step Aside" did, but I really love their sound. It's elusive, serious but not self-serious, every so slightly hushed, nostalgic but still a little wide-eyed. I also like how their songs are structured; not with the usual verse-chorus-verse-chorus with a bridge or two, but with careful build-ups and counterpoints and denouements. Plus, their live performances look DOPE.
"Step Aside" by Efterklang from Tripper (2004)-Live
"Step Aside" by Efterklang from Tripper (2004)-Studio
"Mirador" by Efterklang from Parades (2007)
"Mirror Mirror" by Efterklang from Magic Chairs (2010)
-A
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