Burst Apart by The Antlers (2011) | 95 Phenomenal
There’s a Bath and Body Works fragrance called Sensual Amber. I saw it in my sister’s bathroom today, and I thought, “Hmmm…what makes amber so sensual?” All I remember about Amber is that the old man in Jurassic Park somehow extracted dinosaur DNA from mosquitos in it–not very sensual. But I guess it works for B&BW because they sell the shit out of that fragrance, and after smelling it today, it sure smells pretty damn sensual, unfortunately bottled in a nonsensical cliche. When I think of sensuality, I think of this album art….an atmosphere of sinewy spark, almost a bleeding motion, like cream dissolving in coffee. When The Antlers’ thought of sensuality they made this album, what has become my second favorite album of the year. Burst Apart is an adaption of irony since the sophomore effort of The Antlers is more of an implosion than anything else, and it’s an implosion into the dark recesses of intimate love. And in these dark recesses, what do we find? Loneliness, fear, doubt…as presented in “Putting the Dog to Sleep,” where vocalist Peter Silberman pleads, “Prove to me I’m not gonna die alone./Put your arm around my collarbone,/And open the door,” a cry intimate and desperately soft. Another standout track, equally ethereal, “No Widows,” presents us all with the thought of dying with “no widows” at home. Silberman muses, “If I’m stuck out here alone/If I’m stranded here all year/With just nothing left at home/No widows disappear,” playing even more on the idea of love without receipt, the proverbial (and here somewhat eternal) ships passing in the night scenario. “Rolled Together” is the antithesis of these two tracks, almost monastically chanting for an intimate pair to wrap into themselves “with a burning paper heart” (interpretation TBD). Overall, the album exudes such a slow, intoxicatingly subtle degree of desperation that it twists your stomach, and at the same time is strangely danceable. It’s “The Secret Garden” to music, the twilight of summer in expression, or speck of light in the iris. Overall, a fantastic album that slowly drips its sinewy branches all over our consciousness–an effect that is perfectly apt for a band named The Antlers.
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