CD and LP giveaway, details at end of review
The Antlers
Hospice
Frenchkiss
out August 18th
90/100
[Rating Scale]
[rating:90/100]
There are few albums that give me shivers. Few albums that really get me at my core – real albums, honest albums, painfully personal albums. Even rarer are those records that continue to do so on subsequent listens, hitting me hard each time I hear its story unfold. The Antlers’ Hospice does it like few I can remember.
The album is the product of Peter Silberman’s two year isolation in New York City, a seemingly foreign concept that is much closer to reality than many of the New York City myths you hear on records. Emerging from his self imposed exile, he joined with Michael Lerner and Darby Cicci to form the current incarnation of The Antlers, recording two EPs that would eventually merge to become Hospice. The album tells the story of a man forced to watch his loved one struggle with – and eventually succumb to – bone cancer, and it tells it eloquently, brutally, breath-takingly.
If, as Ben Gibbard proclaims, “Love is watching someone die,” then Hospice is a love album. And, unconventionally, it is. The album is remarkably multi-dimensional, delving into the perspectives and moods of both lovers involved – the love, the hate, the fear, the denial, the dependence. It is the sinking stomach of a desperate hope fading. It is the pain of being a helpless bystander as invisible Death works his slow knife. It is the phantom limb left by a loved one.
The album begins with an instrumental track, entitled “Prologue,” that evokes William Basinski’s Disintegration Loops, an experimental series that chronicles the gradual demise of old magnetic tapes. It is no coincidence that much of Hospice evokes that same sonic experiment – the record is a study in degradation over time.
But although the album is sonically fascinating, it is the storyline that carries the record. Reading the album’s liner notes – arranged as if a series of short stories – opens the door to a depressive fog. I won’t even bother trying to do it justice here. The story is beautifully written and perfectly framed. And stretched over the canvas of haunting and stark music, the somber lyrics of Hospice somehow manage to be beautiful.
The more I listen to Hospice, the more impressed I become. Its swells and silence combine to form a completely devastating piece of art. This is not a happy album. This is not something you want to listen to at a party, or on the radio. But it is an album that begs to be understood, excruciating though that understanding may be. Amazingly enough, Silberman’s exile, isolation, and loneliness have given birth to a testament to human connection. I will be visiting this album for years to come.
90-94 — Near Perfection. One of the bodies of best work in recent memory. Required listening for anyone who loves music in its purest form. (Rating Scale)
Chris Barth is a columnist here at Pretty Much Amazing. You can read his more succinct daily posts at his music blog, The Stu Reid Experiment.
To enter to win a copy of The Antlers’ Hospice on vinyl or CD format (a total of two winners), leave a comment with your thoughts on the tracks you’ve just sampled, this review, or (if you’ve listened to it) the album. Make sure you leave your name/email address in the provided fields! Entries will be accepted until September 2nd
Tags: The Antlers
I expected such a depressing album, and instead it was just beautiful. I’m going to have to buy this before I leave New York, as I don’t think I can wait until the UK release date to have it!
sad but beautiful. one of my favorites this year.
Quality review. This record is so depressing (i’m not even depressed) but its still on heavy rotation. Definitely up there with album of the year.
Too bad i can only listen to 30sec. For the litte pieces i heard, can say there is lot of (diferent) influences, from Sigur Ros to NIN (IMHO) and very ecletic too.
I love when a review compels you to do a double take on something. I haven’t had a chance to give this album much of a listen yet, and I will definitely be revisiting it to give it the listen is deserves.
Great review & very interesting album…not my favorite this year, but will possibly make my Top 20 of 09.
I ran away from this album at first as did I did Bon Iver last year, but I decided to give it more time and at last I was pulled in by my throat. This album is great because you can’t make this shit up. Epilogue is a perfect closer, while Sylvia is probably my favorite track, I’m pretty sure I would cream to hear it on vinyl. That would be pretty much amazing. Zing!
beautiful album. reminds me of Panda Bear’s “Young Prayer”, actually
I can’t believe I’ve never heard of these guys before
Sorry, but this LP just didn’t do it for me. It’s great storytelling, and the story is haunting for sure, but as music, as songs, this album fell very flat for me.
Rad stuff. Agree with the reviewer on all points. Hearing new wonderful music like this is one of the true pleasures in life.
Great review. I agree 100%. I’ve been listening to this album for the past two days and it is simply amazing. I think Bear is my favorite track but the album as a whole is just magnificent.
Awesome, I’m so glad it got a great review here! I absolutely love, love, love this album, and I absolutely one hundred percent agree with that first paragraph. “Bear” is one of my favorite tracks of the year.
I was shocked at how much I ended up liking this album. On its face, the whole idea of 50 minutes about a cancer victim sung with unrelenting earnestness over ambient washes just doesn’t seem very appealing. But the lyrical content is excellent, and really binds everything together. This album is devastating, in the best possible way.