Album Review: The Antlers - Burst Apart

The Antlers - Burst Apart (2011, French Kiss Records)

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How do you follow up the most emotionally devastating album of the last decade (2009's Hospice)? Well if you're The Antlers you head to the studio, mess around with your sound a little, and release Burst Apart. While it lacks the emotional power that Hospice was able to convey, Burst Apart is still a beautifully delicate album that should be appreciated in its own right. The most important thing to come from this album is lead singer Peter Silberman's confidence in his unique falsetto singing style. Burst Apart also feels like a fully fleshed out album, where Hospice was mostly Peter working by himself. It is a much more fully realized work that is powerful in its own right.

Track 1: I Don't Want Love
The strength of this album really lies in its bookends. "I Don't Want Love" starts the album with a clear message. As much as the song title would like you to believe otherwise, this is an album about love. But it's not about the good things that happen in love. It's about the bad things. It's about the hate that festers, the silence, the cruelty. The other bookend "Putting The Dog To Sleep" almost acts in complete contradiction to this song. But we will save that for later.
Verdict: 10/10


Track 2: French Exit: 
This is certainly what I would call the most pop oriented song on the album. Of course it also contains the lyrics "Everytime we speak you are spitting in my mouth". The Antlers have a knack for these somewhat cryptic lyrics that just seam to make sense on another level. Very reminiscent of The National.
Verdict: 9/10



Track 3: Parenthesis
This one is just out of left field. Warning sirens and instrumentation we haven't heard much from these guys. Almost sounds like Radiohead among other things. Of course Peter Silberman's vocals make it unique to itself. Probably the most unique song on the album. I don't know if that makes it the best, but it's pretty good.
Verdict: 10/10


Track 4: No Window
"No Window" is just missing something. It seems almost glossy. I guess to me it's not memorable. Compared to the songs before it at least, which each felt unique in their own right.
Verdict: 6/10


Track 5: Rolled Together
"Pulled together but about to Burst Apart". I see what you did there! Another song that feels a little dull. Better than "No Window", but not exactly a world beater.
Verdict: 7/10


Track 6: Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out
This is more like it. Maybe barring the first and last song on this album, my favorite song lyrically. Very interestingly stark and almost disturbing view of attraction and the consequences of love. Also a very strong song musically. A return to form for sure
Verdict: 9/10


Track 7: Tiptoe
Instrumental. But relatively interesting. Very noir in sound. Sounds seedy and dark, like your walking through an alley at 3am in the 1950's.
Verdict: 8/10


Track 8: Hounds
Another slow song. I do enjoy the the falsetto harmonies and horn section, but doesn't really bring much to the table. But then there is the lyrics. So longingly sad and heartbreaking. With a strange twinge of jealousy. I had to read the lyrics of my copy of the album to really understand them though. Which means I can't give this song as high a score as I would have otherwise.
Verdict: 7/10


Track 9: Corsicana
Similar to "Hounds" but more easy to understand. Again we see love and attraction in this song. But this time as a prison. This song fits perfectly in the narrative as the moment of denouement. Ethereal and like pretty much every song on this album, delicate. Beuatifully composed.
Verdict: 9/10

Track 10: Putting The Dog To Sleep
Here is the final act. Our bookend to "I don't want love". The narrator has been denying love until it finally captures him and creates a prison of his bedroom. He has a sudden change of heart on this final song. Begging his love to prove to him that he won't die alone. Almost as if a plea for love is a plea for a reprieve from loneliness. And who's to say that it isn't. This song is far and away my favorite on this album. Equal parts heartbreaking and beautiful. A fitting end to the discourse on love that we have listened to for 40 or so minutes.
Verdict: 10/10

Cohesiveness Score:
As it runs a basic narrative and the songs are mostly properly spaced, seems like a job well done.
Verdict 10/10


Final Score: 95/110 = 8.6