Frenchkiss has always been a pretty reliable little label, one of those places I go to knowing I'll be satisfied with whatever I get--the local deli that loads all kinds of good shit on a giant roll and it's always good. They've been the home to aggressive indie stalwarts, Les Savy Fav, for some years now; they helped to bolster the ever-catchy Passion Pit. So, after a couple of years of hearing the name, The Antlers, being thrown around the various indie-blog standbys and ascribing them to the realm of fungible "it-bands," I decided to give them a shot once the Frenchkiss kiss-of-life was placed on their collective baby-soft cheek. Needless to say, I'm pleased with the result of my recent venture.
Burst Apart is the passionate new album from the Brooklyn now-trio. Released just a week ago, the album is an emotional onslaught of gooey synths, spindly guitars, and effeminate vocals provided by frontman Peter Silberman (and here I thought Britt Daniel had a deceiving range). The fluctuation of falsetto to impassioned croon gives the band quite the palate to work off of. This discrepancy is most evident at the close of the album in the shift from "Corsicana" to "Putting the Dog to Sleep," the final two tracks of Burst.
In the beautiful "Corsicana," the slow strum of clean guitars and the atmospheric air provide a backdrop to the light and extended "ooh"s that Silberman brings to the table. As he describes two people trapped in a slowly burning room, the narrator closes by imploring the other, "We should hold our breaths with mouths together now," and you almost want to stay in the room alongside them to watch the tragic, yet beautiful fire slowly consume whatever is left. In the segue from one song to the other, you can hear the wind blow through that very same room and lead us to the soul-filled soundscape of "Putting the Dog to Sleep;" it feels like a modern-day "Under the Sea" slowdance at prom, but without laying on the cheese. With what could be the same two people from the previous song, our narrator wants to clear the air with the other before the smoke overtakes them: "Don't lie to me.../Put your trust in me/I'm not gonna die alone," he assures them. While this could easily be construed as melodrama, the urgency in his voice is too earnest to not take seriously. So, when it comes to Burst Apart, take note--seriously.
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