Is there a bigger cliche in the world of music than an indie band from New York? Not many things come to mind and everytime something new and original emerges from this hackneyed scene, I find myself in the state of awe. One of the times I was in this state was back in 2011, when The Antlers dropped their album Burst Apart. They were not only refreshing in indie category, but also on the overall music scene.The Antlers are a band that successfully merges mellifluous quality of The Stone Roses with progressive melancholy of Radiohead. Their sound is super intriguing.
Initially, The Antlers was a solo project by a frontman Peter Silberman. In 2006, he released debut Uprooted followed by 2007 In The Attic of the Universe.After these two records, industrious Peter realized how his band will function better If he includes few other members in it, so he recruited Michael Lerner and Darby Ciccia. The success came shortly after. The Antlers' first release as a trio was 2008 EP New York Hospitals that served as an introduction for their full-length masterpiece Hospice. The concept of the album was relationship between hospital nurse and fatally sick patient. Warm, emotional story brought ten intense songs bursting from darkness. The album was critically praised, there were even rumours how it could be the record of the year. History teaches us how every act strives to record well-received masterpiece, but history also taught us how masterpiece can also become a burden for performers who feel enormous pressure to beat themselves. Critics usually compare every successor with the band's most glorious material. Considering all of this, it was clear that 2011 was anxious year for The Antlers. They could have recorded another conceptual album or develop a syndrome of The Stone Roses who kept on recording the same shit for ten years. The Antlers decided to move forward and create a record listening to their intuition.
Burst Apart was practically the first full-length studio album of the band as a trio. The result of their gathering was more than solid. An independent, coherent and compact record had very little in common with its predecessor. If The Antlers were suppose to prove themselves as a creative trio, they certainly did. Immediately after the introduction with I Don't Want Love, it was clear that they have cooked something exotic and fresh. Combination of morose melodies supported with Silberman's melancholic voice sounds cohesive. For a minute there, they really resemble The Stone Roses and Radiohead. Winning combination peaks in tunes such as Parentheses, No Widows, Hounds and Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out. Another standout was a remarkable Putting the Dog To Sleep that shows Silberman as a top-notch songwriter.
Overall, Burst Apart was another milestone in the career of a band who never reached the status of its idols.
