As one of my favorite albums of all time, I figured I would put in the effort to make this my very first full album review. It is going to be a bit rough and probably very long so bear with me.
The indie-rock group that calls themselves The Antlers have created one of the saddest and most beautiful albums I have ever heard. Creating a metaphor for an abusive relationship out of the story of a hospice worker that falls in love with a cancer patient, this album achieves its goal of making you tear up while also being introspective and very, very human.
Prologue- An explosive instrumental begins this album and sets the tone for the rest of the album. With the liner notes about this song saying "Before diving into this, I think some background would be useful. When she was younger, she had nightmares. She had scissor-pain and phantom limbs, and things that kept her nervous through that twelve-year interim. When she fell crossing that street (south of Houston, old Manhattan-land), those nightmares fell from building tops and took her by the hand. She was brought into those rooms with sliding curtains and shining children’s heads. One of them, that boy, was not as lucky as she then. (Years later, he would return her at night, just when she thought she might have fallen asleep. As she would later describe to me, his face would be up against hers, and she’d be too terrified to speak.) Now, I won’t pretend I understand, because I can’t, and know I never will. But something makes her sting, and something makes her want to kill. IT made her crawl under that house, and stick her head under the stove…well, my point in all of this is that it’s all connected in these complicated nightmares that we have," we get some background to the story as well, which I find is the real purpose of this song. Its only downfall is the lack of actual exposition. I had to actively seek this out and they could have included some of that directly in the song. 5/10
Kettering- Immediately following the haunting instrumental opening track, the piano at the beginning of this track gives it a human touch. Emotions are easy to convey through sound in theory, but are actually very difficult. With this emotionally driven album, The Antlers take two approaches to this challenge. First, Silberman's voice is very solemn and he introduces these feelings of loss and desperation before you even know what is going on. They use his voice as instrument instead of only a vessel to carry words to the listener. Second, the explosion of instruments about 2/3rds into the song are unexpected the first time you listen to the song, but they are vital to it. Sure you could have Silerman's belt out some words and explain to us what he is feeling, but instead The Antlers give us a mesh of Sylvia's feelings of anger and the main character's feelings of frustration and care, all with two distinct versions of rejection. The lyrics do a great job at giving some exposition. They throw you in immediately to the emotionally charged words that explain both this story of a patient and her hospice worker, while also being a metaphor for an abusive relationship. 8.5/10
Sylvia- A clinical buzz starts this song out. We are introduced to Sylvia, the patient in the story. She is portrayed as a very angry woman who is uncooperative. Her lack of willingness to cooperate leads to the hospice worker feeling helpless. These emotions further connect the metaphor of emotional abuse to the patient-doctor narrative that takes place. The nurse begs Sylvia to cooperate and be less self-destructive, throwing the blame on himself while also acknowledging that it is his job to "fix" her. The instrumental doesn't exactly mirror the situation, rather it accompanies it and shows the relentless desperation that both characters are feeling. Through the instrumental, we feel the relationship start to build, even if it isn't a healthy build up. 7.5/10
Atrophy- The soft ballad in an album full of soft ballads. It gets its point across extremely well, pushing the relationship even further and showing us the extent of the emotional abuse that is happening. The instrumental kicks in and at this point it almost seems formulaic but it works anyways. The depression, anxiety, and fear that the nurse feels because of this relationship is thrown in with the instrumental, while the lyrics mainly portray the hopelessness and lack of control that he feels. 7/10
Bear- Beginning with Twelve Variations on "Ah vous dirai-je, Maman" by Mozart, this track feels very light-hearted. The deviation from the melody thrown in towards the end of the little bit of intro that we hear fits the song perfectly due to the fact that it is about the loss of a child. This song is easily one of the most heartwrenching songs I have ever heard because of its nature. The light, childish intro melody fits the idea of pregnancy and children. While the first lyrics reflect that, the carpet is ripped from your feet when they begin to talk about "cutting him from beneath." This beautiful song sits in the middle of the album and divides the harsh first half from the soul-wrecking depression train that is the second half. Both the instrumental and lyrics create an atmosphere that is almost indescribable. There really isn't much else I can say about this song since it speaks for itself. 9/10
oh, if a transition could have a rating, I think I'd give this one a 10/10. I love the build up in Bear and the cathartic explosion in Thirteen.
Thirteen- If this track didn't complete the transition from Bear, it would have a lower score. The instrumental is good, but there isn't anything that stands out. From the point of view of the story, I can see its importance and that is what keeps it from being a below-average track. It definitely isn't a track I'd show people to show off The Antlers. 5.5/10
Two- On an album full of beautiful instrumentals, this is the track where the lyrics stand out. The lyrics progress the story in a consistent and quick way that feels nice after a track like Thirteen, where you have to make a lot of assumptions about the characters. Dichotomy is used a lot in this aptly named song and I was afraid it would sound too forced and cliched. To my surprise, this song executed it almost to perfection. The Antlers talk about the two people, two ways to interpret the story, the two worlds that the characters live in, and even the double narration in the song itself in order to push this metaphor of an emotionally abusive relationship. The simple chord progression in the back makes sure not to overshadow the lyrics that are essential to this song and it was a shining moment in the mixing of the album. Although, I do think that they completely dropped the ball on the music video's mixing and it's a shame because I really like the music video. This dense song is one of my favorites off of the album and it deserves an 8.5/10
Shiva- The climax of the story falls in this song, which is a let down. It doesn't hurt the album in any way, and if anything, it actually helps accentuate the feelings that came before and after it. The instrumental is light and makes the song seem apathetic just like the vocal delivery. If you are going to talk about an event like the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, or in this case, both of them at the same time, the lyrics can only take you so far. In the end, the thing that saves this song are the beautiful lyrics that don't let up with how harsh they are and how well they convey feelings. 6/10
Wake- One of the hardest hitting songs on the album. This song starts out with an ethereal ambiance and no traditional instruments, just Silberman's voice through a vocoder (I think) and a very faint piano. Because of this, the emphasis falls on the vocals and the lyrics. Unlike the song before this, the vocal inflections and tone actually fit the song. Strong vocals need to be accompanied by strong lyrics and this song does not disappoint. It is on par with Two in terms of storytelling and the ability to connect the idea of hospice care with an abusive relationship. This song provides the resolution to the entire album with the lyrics, "Don't be scared to speak. Don't speak with someone's tooth. Don't bargain when you're weak. Don't take that sharp abuse. Some patients can't be saved, but that burden's not on you" followed by The Antlers' message to the listener which is, "Don't ever let anyone tell you you deserve that." The explosion of instruments that occurs during those lyrics are beautiful and cathartic. It is exactly what you expect and it is satisfying to hear. 8/10
Epilogue- The song starts out with a simple chord progression on an acoustic guitar, again, putting emphasis on the lyrics and the vocals. While the vocals aren't anything too special on this song, they stand out purely because there isn't a lot going on. This song is very aptly named since it follows the nurse into some time in the future when the patient has been gone for a while. Keeping the metaphor of an abusive relationship, you have the first instance of the character trying to move on. He has this dream where the abusive cycle is taking place, showing that it still haunts him. In a very human ending, this song encapsulates the lack of a clean ending to abusive relationships and life, I guess. A beautiful song which The Antlers call "the ellipses at the end." 8/10
This is a beautiful album that I feel everyone should listen to. Its overall score is deceiving to it as an experience, but true to it as an album. If you have the chance to do so, I strongly suggest listening to it all the way through while reading the lyrics.