The Antlers – Burst Apart

it’ll come into its own when you’re dehydrated on a  Sunday morning with a bastard behind the eyes

it’ll come into its own when you’re dehydrated on a  Sunday morning with a bastard behind the eyes

http://antlersmusic.com/

Formed through a love of trip hop and 90’s chill-out, Burst Apart may well be the first great come down album of the decade. Elegant, stately and ever so pleasant, Burst Apart is a flower that blossoms slowly. You seem to become familiar with its melodies by osmosis rather than any direct contact and as you let the album float past you it’s magic starts to sink in. The album has a gentle, serene, lightness of touch that is very impressive to behold. Their ability to hold your attention with very minimalist instrumentation  is impressive and at times you just have to marvel at how simple the whole thing is. It’s actually quite difficult to pull this kind of thing off correctly and The Antlers excel at it.

The focal point for all of this Peter Silberman’s voice. It registers somewhere between Antony & The Johnsons and Jimmy Somerville, which in laymans terms means its high, floaty and ever so slightly wobbly. It’s a hauntingly evocative instrument in its own right and absolutely enchanting but it’s the kind of voice that whiffs of self importance and betrays a large ego. You can’t sing like this if you don’t love yourself more than is possibly healthy and that kind of thing can turn some people off. Then again, we like a bit of vanity in our performers and here in the shed we’re quite happy to listen to a pretentious performer every now and again and we can wholeheartedly recommend this to you.

It’s an album that will sound as good on the radio as it will in a wet field in Eastern Europe but it’ll come into its own when you’re dehydrated on a Sunday morning with a bastard behind the eyes. It’s a charming, scintillating record that creeps into your subconscious and stays there, haunting you. Be warned, however, this is not for those with short attention spans. The Antlers love themselves far more than you ever will and they require you to shut the fuck up and pay attention. If you’ll grant them the time and space to let them show off a little, you’ll find a lot to admire here.