The Antlers, Burst Apart

Photo By Shervin Lainez 

Back in 2009, The Antlers released their amazing album, Hospice. It was a concept album that told the story of someone who was very sick and at the end of their life. It was a deeply personal album for Peter Silberman, the creative force behind The Antlers. It was dark and haunting and beautiful and I was so drawn into the story from both a lyrical and musical perspective.

After almost three years, Silberman and The Antlers are back with Burst Apart. While the album is not another album that draws in the listener with a linear storyline or concept, it is another amazing collection of songs.

Relationships don’t seem to come easy to Silberman. Being loved and or not being loved haunts him and he struggles through these songs to make sense of what he wants or needs. In French Kiss he sings “Everyone I loved kept me tangled in my heart, You’ll tie that knot a bit too loose, not enough to tease apart….Come on. Everyone I hold, holds me strangled, sweet and smart. I’m not a puppy you take home, don’t bother trying to fix my heart.”

Burst Apart

Silberman has a dynamic voice that can pack an emotional punch especially when he goes up into his falsetto range. His vocals along with his gorgeous and lush guitar work carry and convey the weight of his words and feelings. 

Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out   

As the album progresses, Silberman shows glimmers and signs of a man who realizes that he may not be able stand alone. Whether he wants to or not is an entirely different matter. As the album comes to a close with Putting The Dog To Sleep, he is putting himself in someone else’s care, like a wounded animal that needs someone to care for it. He sings, “Well my trust in you is a dog with a broken leg, Tendons too torn to beg for you to let me back in. You said, “I can’t prove to you you’re not gonna die alone, But trust me to take you home, To clean up that blood all over your paws.” Silberman response to them both with “Put your trust in me, I’m not going to die alone….I don’t think so….”

Parentheses   

Happy endings are nice, but not always real or realistic. While this is certainly the case within world that Silberman writes about, but it not the case when it comes to the band's music. Like on Hospice, The Antlers’ music on Burst Apart is richly textured and can soar in a way that many bands can only aspire to achieve. In this respect, this is another very happy ending for The Antlers creatively.