Burst Apart is the fourth LP from Brooklyn based indie rock band, The Antlers. The first two albums from The Antlers were actually written solely by vocalist/guitarist, Peter Silberman, as a solo project. Soon after, Michael Lerner and Darby Cicci came on making The Antlers a group. Together they released 2009’s Hospice, which was a wild success. After Hospice’s release the band was signed to Frenchkiss Records, and released a remastered edition under the label. Now, The Antlers have created Burst Apart, a beautiful, rocking, but somewhat sedated fourth effort.
The entire length of Hospice was dedicated to telling the emotionally exhausting story of a terminally ill patient falling for a hospital worker. Since their breakthrough album was such an obvious concept album, I was curious to see how The Antlers would follow it with their next work. Burst not a concept album, and seems to be an attempt to break from the theme of Hospice.
Burst Apart features many of the elements that made Hospice great. Silberman’s falsetto can be heard, keeping a true indie feel on the record. I think that while Hospice may seem like a heavier album because of its crazy emotional turmoil, Burst Apart actually experiments with heavier rock sounds. This sound is best exemplified on the tracks “Parentheses” and “Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out.” The guitar playing is heavy, almost bluesy.
As a whole the album does not run together as smoothly as Hospice, but the pacing from song to song gives Burst Apart a sense of urgency and intrigue that is still captivating. The Antlers have been identified with their previous album, instead of their album being identified with them. Burst Apart is wonderful and reflective, yet lacks that gut-wrenching drama present on Hospice. This is not a bad thing, but for fans it could be a disappointment if they were expecting an album of the same emotional caliber.
WPGU Music Staff Rating: W-P-1/2
Key Tracks: “I Don’t Want Love”, “Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out” and “Putting The Dog To Sleep”
Recommended if you like: The National, Bon Iver, Sparklehorse.
W = Poor
W-P = Fair
W-P-G = Great
W-P-G-U = An instant classic!
