The Antlers: Hospice

ALBUM REVIEW: The Antlers – Hospice
words: Jamie Milton — originally scribed for gigwise.com

A couple of things should be established: The most important of which is that yes, ‘Hospice‘ is a concept album but it’s not a concept album about a loved one staring at death’s beady eyes and ultimately coming to a stop. That would be far too safe a method of producing tears in a listener’s eyes, wouldn’t it? More than anything (and this is point number two), this is a concept album about a break-up. The idea of a Hospice being this alloted space for people to simply die in hits a chord with the slow demise of a relationship, one that has a parallel with say, a grandfather with Alzheimer’s – something you know is one the way out.

Peter Silberman has always shied away from exposing just what led to the writing of ‘Hospice‘, the exact experience that led him to writing what is essentially a “break-up album”. All we know is Silberman sat himself aside other concept albums, ‘In The Aeroplane Over The Sea‘ etc. He wrote, he analysed, he recorded, he analysed again. The final product is something steadily on its feet, exposed to the ultimate sense of loss, an album that eases like a speeding train through a tunnel with such flow and direction.

It doesn’t reach perfection by any means. Production — even on the re-mastered version this reviewer is sitting with right here — is dubiously put through its paces, shadowing out lyrics that would surely make a vital component of such a sad album, in favour of an atmosphere that crosses the line occasionally in terms of sounding too hectic. It just needs to catch its breath sometimes. And for songs with such overwhelming misery, the likes of ‘Kettering‘ and ‘Wake‘ could perhaps be complimented with a string quartet. Or would that be too predictable?

Because ‘Hospice‘ is far from your average concept album. And where Silberman could take rest and employ a 32-piece-orchestra he instead pits for plugging his guitar in and constructing dreamy, shoegaze-y walls of noise on the chorus’ of ‘Sylvia’ and ‘Bear‘. Such powerful jolts of tense commotion wake you from the relaxing trance that ‘Hospice‘ can at times allow you to slip in to.

And whilst the making of this album involved listen after listen of fellow concept albums, notes and notes of ideas, planning, the most important ideas came from Silberman’s need to put ‘Hospice’ outside of the norm. Concept albums come in all shapes and sizes but you’ll be fortuitous to ever come across another album about death or the death about a relationship that is so keen to complicate and keep you alert. Those moments that come across like interruptions, the kicks and jerks, seem to symbolically represent the dying body fighting at its last moments, jumping to a start before giving in for the final time…