The Antlers: Burst Apart
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The Antlers: Burst Apart

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This album is every bit as beautiful as its predecessor, but a clear step forward for the band. Peter Silberman’s shaking soprano remains of the most distinctive and hypnotic features of their sound, but where he once seemed on the verge of falling apart, his aching tones are now more robust, and maybe a little warmer.

 

At first listen, Burst Apart seems, if not a happy record, at least a positive one. But lurking beneath the amped up rhythms and uplifting threads of melody, Silberman is still shaking out his personal demons. “I’m not a puppy you take home,” he sings on French Exit, “Don’t bother trying to fix my heart.” Grimmer still on Putting The Dog To Sleep (loving the canine metaphor) he says, “My trust in you is a dog with a broken leg, tendons too torn to beg for you to let me back in.”

 

It’s just a few glimmers of romantic hope on the album that alleviate the despair, like the closing lines of Corsicana: “We lost our chance to run / The door’s too hot to touch. We should hold our breath with mouths together now.”

 

Musically, Burst Apart has a rich palette, with synth drum sounds and floating melodies stitched together in hypnotic blanket of sound. Each song has a distinct flavour but they also flow together seamlessly; from the epic climb of I Don’t Want Love to the cruising churn of Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out to the atmospheric glide of Tiptoe. It’s like one long and lovely dream, best enjoyed on a long walk with a decent set of headphones. In that respect, The Antlers are more like Radiohead than most contemporary indie bands – their music reveals itself slowly, and needs to be heard from end to end to really make sense. If you give them the time, they’ll give you goosebumps.

 

The Australian/digital release of Burst Apart includes two phenomenal bonus tracks – the skittering, majestic swell of Tongue Tied and a twinkling remix of French Exit. These two magic tunes have a subterranean rumble and a glassy electro surface, bringing a whole new dimension to The Antlers’ delicate aesthetic.