SPIN

6

• SPIN Rating:6 of 10

• • Listen:

    Spotify

Release Date: May 10, 2011
Label: Frenchkiss

The Antlers' 2009 debut, Hospice, was an album-length examination of destructive, codependent relationships. Perhaps singer-songwriter Peter Silberman felt he revealed too much, because that bloodletting is replaced here by an emphasis on textural exploration. Echoing guitar and keyboards intertwine throughout, "Parentheses" has a near trip-hop beat, and Silberman flexes his Jeff Buckley–ish falsetto. The Antlers still summon widescreen, dramaticmoments when their moody tangents cohere, but too many songs sacrifice substance for prettiness, gliding by forgettably.