NewMusic First Spin: The Antlers
August 11th, 2009
Every once in a while you stumble upon an album that is so intimate you almost feel uncomfortable listening to it. Hospice is one of those albums. The third full-length by Peter Silberman, who’s better known as the driving force behind The Antlers, Hospice was borne from a solitary bedroom in Brooklyn and grew into a full-on collaboration with musicians who would come to form a proper band.
Self-released earlier this year by the Antlers, the album has spread like wildfire thanks to unanimous praise from music bloggers. The overwhelming reaction led to a record deal with FrenchKiss (Les Savy Fav, Dodos, Passion Pit), which will now reissue the album on August 18th.
Garnering regular comparisons to the Arcade Fire for its sweeping orchestrations and sombre tones, Hospice is an exhausting trip through a rough patch that Silberman experienced between 2005 and 2007. Said to be written about his nightmares, the narrative follows a man watching his significant other succumb to bone cancer in the Sloan Kettering Cancer Ward. (For a sobering experience, you can read the lyrics and liner notes here)
However, it’s Silberman’s haunting, fragile quiver and the band’s spacious, shoegazed dreamscapes that turn his words into such an emotionally devastating listen. The opening Prologue prepares you for the floodgates to open on Kettering, a funereal torch song that sets up the narrative to unfold. From there, Sylvia is a passionate release that raises the volume with soaring guitars, Bear is a driving song that contemplates mortality and, despite its disturbing imagery, Two introduces some lightness with its positive melodies. It all sets the tone for the melancholy that hits with Wake, where the man says goodbye.
After it ends with the apt Epilogue, there is a staggering feeling of catharsis for Silberman, his character and yourself that feels both poignant and draining. Hospice is a demanding, but deeply rewarding listen.
Artist: The Antlers
Album: Hospice
Release Date: August 18, 2009
Label: Frenchkiss Records
Genre: Indie Rock
Author: Cam Lindsay
Track Listing:
Tags: first spin, the antlers
Posted on Tuesday, August 11th, 2009 at 4:09 pm by Alberto and is filed under Reviews, The New Music.
