Efterklang Cork Opera House

No-one could ever accuse Efterklang of lacking imagination.

The Danish threesome prepared for their new album, Paramida, by repairing to the town of the same name — an abandoned mining settlement on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen — for nine days in August 2011. There, they evaded polar bears as they recorded the thousand-plus found sounds that inspired a nine-month spell of songwriting.

Efterklang never felt compelled to reproduce Piramida note-for-note on stage — they’re just not that kind of band. Instead — in a project curated by Cork Opera House director Mary Hickson — singer Casper Clausen, bassist Rasmus Stolberg and mutli-instrumentalist Mads Brauer were joined by drummer Budgie (formerly of Siouxsie and the Banshees), three backing singers and a small orchestra for their appearances in Cork and Dublin.

“I’m all for giving it time,” Clausen sings on Told To Be Fine, which seems to sum up the Efterklang aesthetic. They perform Piramida in its entirety. Hollow Mountain, Apples, Sedna: the songs unfold at a leisurely pace, and each seems to end all too soon. Almost any of the new tracks would work as an instrumental, but Clausen’s vocals waft over them like mist. The prevailing mood is one of melancholy, but Clausen performs with a twinkle in his eye that suggests he may be having us on.

The band seem surprised by the standing ovation at the end. They return for a two-song encore, but not even the monumental Modern Drift, from their last album, Magic Chairs, satisfies the punters: Efterklang come back again to reprise the Piramida track The Ghosts.

If ever an argument can be made for the old music industry model of a band building their career over several albums, then Efterklang are it. Piramida is out Sept 28.