The Antlers-Burst Apart

Grooving Poignancy

Burst Apart is the second full-length album for The Antlers. Hospice, their first album was a critically acclaimed masterpiece that put them on the map. Hospice is a concept album about a person in a relationship with someone in the terminally ill ward of the hospital, and it is as heart wrenching as it sounds. Sylvia and the Epilogue greatly illustrate the pain and beauty of the album. Unlike Hospice, Burst Apart is not a concept album. But in an interview, lead singer Peter Silberman said "I tend to think of the songs on Burst Apart as being a picture of a period of time in my life, less like one story and more like a change in a way of thinking over time. It begins in a pretty negative, anxious place, at arm's length — and as it progresses, it becomes warmer and more trusting." It is easy to see this change through the album. The first song is called I Don’t Want Love, and the last is called Putting the Dog to Sleep. The last four lines of Putting the Dog to Sleep are, “Put your trust in me, I’m not going to die alone, I don’t think so.” In a music industry where the single rules all, it is fun and enjoyable to listen to a cohesive album, instead of a collection of singles. Peter Silberman’s voice is completely breathtaking and possessing. In songs like Rolled Together, his voice soars over the minimalist instruments, and is similar to Thom Yorke or Jonsi. This is a wonderful follow-up album to one of the best albums of the decade, and shows that The Antlers will be making astonishingly beautiful and visceral music for many years.