Alt/Punk |
Rhapsody TV
May 10, 2011
The Antlers' 2009 LP Hospice is so epic, so crushing, that listening to it feels like a bullet taking 50 minutes to sink into your chest. Burst Apart captures the aftermath in a slow-burning dream state that's as narcotic as it is haunting. Frontman Peter Silberman is more introspective, examining the fine line between loneliness and independence: His falsetto slithers like a charmed snake as guitars echo and keyboards meander into the ether. "French Exit" grooves, "No Widows" floats in space, "Tiptoe" evokes film noir, and "Parentheses" has Radiohead on the brain.
Along with Massive Attack's "Protection" and Tricky's "Overcome," Portishead's "Roads" represents the apex of UK trip hop, a genre whose short life span belies how influential it was. Dummy didn't start it all (that'd be Massive Attack's Blue Lines); what it did was deliver the sweetest fruits of trip hop -- languid strings, loping beats, desperate, aching vocals, an addictive narcotic pall throughout -- to the masses. Many a good cry was had to this album.
On The Record: The Antlers talk Portishead
On the Record is a video series where rock stars gush about their favorite records -- in exactly 45 seconds. Click above to watch The Antlers talk about their favorite album of all time.