Under Byen

Siamesisk

BY Scott A. GrayPublished Mar 24, 2008

Featuring material culled almost entirely from the experimental pop orchestra’s 2006 breakthrough, Samme stof som stof, Under Byen have put together a dauntingly powerful live EP with Siamesisk. The magnitude of intensity these Denmark natives are capable of generating with their classically-influenced mini-epics is awe-inspiring, all the more so when you realise it’s being pulled off live. With sound so clear, full, layered and flawlessly performed, it’s easy to forget that a living, breathing ensemble were responsible. Under Byen’s music is as readily comparable to Björk and Portishead as ever but is marked by a cinematic romanticism tempered by neither Beth Gibbons’ jilted sneer nor Björk’s confrontational eccentricities. Dramatic and mysterious, yet somehow still warmly intimate, EP centrepiece and title track "Siamesisk” is a great example of the dynamic capabilities this humble ensemble invest in pushing musical thresholds while retaining welcoming elements of familiar song forms.
(Paper Bag)

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