I spent most of the Antlers’ set at Northampton’s tiny, almost empty Iron Horse Music Hall wondering why they weren’t doing it for me. When I wasn’t thinking about this I was considering wearing earplugs to shows and I was thinking about where I was going to catch the bus back to where I live and wondering if it was possible to read four parts of Virgil’s Aeneid in twenty-four hours (fortunately, it’s possible, but I don’t recommend it). This is an issue because when I go to a good show I can think of nothing but lyrical and sound progressions and what’s going to be next, what’s going to be next? I don’t care about my inevitable hearing loss or bus schedules or homework, especially. I don’t care about making a fool of myself with ridiculous dance moves and ecstatic cheering when the band breaks out some classic jam. I don’t think about why this is working or why this isn’t working. If I did think about all these things, I would probably have no place reviewing concerts. I was a little upset with myself that I let my mind wander so much, but customarily when you are in the front row watching a band perform a bunch of tracks from their breathtaking album you have to try to let your mind go elsewhere. Continue reading →
Posts Tagged: The Antlers
2
Nov 09
The Antlers, Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton MA 9/26
31
Oct 09
The Antlers: Daytrotter Session
Breathtaking and beautiful were the Antlers on the session Daytrotter posted yesterday. Chiefly singing tunes off their devastatingly raw album Hospice, the Antlers added depth to tracks through their live session — “Kettering,” Hospice’s heartbreaking first track, for example, carries a punch heavier than that found on the album.
When performing “Two,” ringleader Peter Silberman sings with surprising eagerness vis-à-vis the biting lyrical tension and the overwhelming sense of surrender and hopelessness. That, I believe, is a defining moment for the Antlers.
The Antlers: Daytrotter Session 10/30/09
1. Welcome To Daytrotter
2. Shiva (from Hospice)
3. Cold War (from Cold War EP)
4. Kettering (from Hospice)
5. Two (from Hospice)
Get the full session @ Daytrotter.
23
Oct 09
This Week’s Touring News
I don’t usually post tour dates on the blog, but I figured a lot of you might be interested in what cool shows have been announced in your area for the near future. I know I usually rummage the internet for such information.
Here is this the touring news for the week ending 10/23, including dates for JUSTICE, Arctic Monkeys, Wilco, Julian Casablancas, Weezer, The Antlers, Neko Case, Andrew Bird, Free Energy, The Drums and These United States. Continue reading →
5
Oct 09
The Absolute Best Songs of 2009 (75% of it)
Artwork by the talented and generous Adam Sparpalius.
Continue reading →
2
Sep 09
The Antlers – Bear
The Antlers have yet again found a way to create a song with beautiful opposites. They contrast a metaphor in the first two lines of “Bear” with bluntness in the next two. They counter the single-noted verses with a chorus backed by horns and drums.Finally the lyrics to the chorus, “We’re too old, we’re not old at all”, show why the opposites are present.
The couple in this song used to be in love but after going through an extreme hardship the girl is left sitting on the floor with a suitcase. After listening to the lyrics once, the story behind this song will become clear, but don’t let that define the song. Instead, the song speaks to anyone who has fallen out of love because the love could not withstand a certain challenge, and almost everyone can relate to that.
“Bear” was the first single released from the Antlers’ heartbreaking and beautiful, Hospice. The album was released August 18th through Frenchkiss Records. Listen to “Bear” here
The Antlers – [download id="208"]
26
Aug 09
The Antlers – Hospice, Album Review
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. Continue reading →
21
Aug 09
The Antlers – Two (Music Video)
When the guitar strums start on “Two” and Peter Silberman sings about how he was sleeping sitting up I almost hear Conor Oberst wishing he only had one desire; almost but not for long.
Although reminiscent of Bright Eyes’ “A Perfect Sonnet”, The Antlers have created a wonderful song and video that speak for hope. The beauty of the song comes not only from the lyrics but especially the music which is clear in the video. Continue reading →
9
Jul 09
Under 50 w/ The Pains…, The Sounds, The Antlers, Dirty Projectors & Fools Gold
Just a note, the PMA Rating scale has been updated. Because it now extends to most tracks as well, you will be seeing big, bold, red ratings often and you should probably educate yourself and know what they mean. See the scale here. Thank you.
There is so much music out there and so little time to talk about it! So every time I feel there’s a build up of some songs I genuinely like that aren’t being represented here at PMA, I will do one of these bulk posts, limiting my comments on the song to 50 words. Think of this as an indescript playlist.
This time I’ll be focusing on songs by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, The Sounds, The Antlers, Dirty Projectors, and Fools Gold Continue reading →
