The Antlers

January 12, 2009

This year, I’m making a new years resolution to do better at checking and responding to email.  I got so overwhelmed as the emails started piling up (I still have over 10,000 unread from ‘08 alone) that I almost stopped checking altogether.  Now that I have my handy iPhone on me 24/7 hopefully I can start doing better, and it’s already paying off as it led me to discover The Antlers, a Brooklyn-basedband who are preparing to release their sophomore album, Hospice.  I was immediately captivated by this band’s delicate, refined folk sound.  Peter Silberman’s wispy, delicate vocals and the warm, natural melodies make this music incredibly affecting as the acoustic Shins-like instrumentation floats along effortlessly.

“Two” is a song I’ve listened to over and over and each time I’ve been profoundly moved by the song’s simple melodic progression, Silberman’s sublime falsetto, and the incredibly touching lyrics.  The vocal performance is honest and heartfelt as he sings about his girlfriend dying of (presumably) cancer.  His inability to save her tears himself up inside and you can feel the pain in lines like “Then they stuck you in machines, you came so close to dying / They should have listened, they thought that you were lying” and his anger when he says “Daddy was an asshole, he f**ked you up”. The steadily strummed guitar propels the song forward as it builds to a stirring climax. “Bear” is another lovely tune with a bedroom pop feel and wonderfully catchy melody that sounds like something Ben Gibbard might have written circa 2001. Easily the best (relatively) new band I’ve listened to this year, I give this a very high recommendation.

MP3 Two
MP3 Bear

Download some more Antlers tracks here.

Posted by Taylor in Artist Spotlight