‘Two’
Continuing to metaphorically tear up my mission statement of trying to feature a diverse range of bands on these pages, it’s time for ANOTHER Brooklyn-based group: The Antlers.
Lead singer/songwriter Peter Silberman initially started the project under his own name when he moved to Brooklyn four years ago. After recruiting Michael Lerner and Darby Cicci, the band recorded two EPs and, after their self-released debut full-length sold in insane numbers, they were snapped up by French Kiss records of Passion Pit and The Hold Steady fame.
Their remastered album, Hospice is a caliginous, brooding work. It recounts the tale of a man losing a loved one to cancer, narrating his first-hand dealings with death, and laced with photo-realistic imagery.
The music is no-more chirpy. The Antlers’ sound is underpinned by a churning mixture of what Silberman calls “found” noises: experiments and accidental happenings in atmospheric timbre. His exasperated delivery is at times not-unlike Wyn Butler of Arcade Fire, and the band have been compared to the Montreal group on more than one occasion.
Hospice is a great record. However, if you’re not really in the mood to listen to an articulate tale of death and loss, perhaps listen to The Antlers’ polar opposite, Slow Club, instead?
2 Comments
December 9, 2009 at 2:00 pm
They played at Clwb last Tuesday. We should have gone!
December 9, 2009 at 6:07 pm
Yup, with Hail! The Planes, and Bear Driver (the latter are up for the blog next)!