Folk/Post-Rock 2009 Frenchkiss Records
Download Hospice
The Antlers were started by lonely musician Peter Silberman who then found a band and created this here album. This was my album of the year last year, coming completely out of nowhere.
Stylistically, this album lives somewhere between well crafted, emotional, and intimate folk music of Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, and Grizzly Bear and dynamic, "epic" sounding bands such as Mogwai or Sigur Ros.
Dynamic is THE word to describe this album musically. What is also important to note is how well the arrangements work with the thematic elements of the album. Thematically, Hospice mulls over the rising and falling of emotions that go alongside a new relationship, a marriage, discovering the loved one has cancer and its aftermath. With this gives a range of emotions, all of which have undertones of jaded nostalgia. The arrangements fit this in expressing how these feelings were dealt with, by hiding. This is expressed by the vocalist, Peter Silberman, sharing his story with twisting metaphors and colloquialisms then escaping to hide behind a backing bands crescendo and support. This is to express , something we all as music lovers find, the utilization of music as a healing device or catharsis.
Two tracks that stand out in this album are the album's first real song and microcosm "Kettering"." Kettering does a good job of sharing what the album will be like but not quite giving it all away. It accomplishes this with an interesting use of slowly adding textures and instruments to give a sense of driving towards a goal.
Ultimately, Hospice is an album that is both meaningful and musically engaging, something that makes an album a long time favorite for any music lover.
For listeners of: Grizzly Bear, Fleet Foxes, Sigur Ros, Bon Iver, Mogwai, The Decemberists, Elliot Smith, Neutral Milk Hotel
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